Where Demons Dwell
by immortal-chicks
Summary: Naruto was left for dead, but he lives and a Hidden Village takes him in as one of their own… all they want in return is Kyuubi. With different friends, new allies and enemies how will Naruto fare in this world of demons? AU Naru/Sai OC/OC
1. The Valley of the End

**Disclaimer: **We don't own Naruto.

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**Prologue: The Valley of the End**

Uzumaki Naruto had gained many titles during his life, Prankster Extraordinaire, Konoha's Number One-Hyperactive-Knucklehead-Ninja, Demon Brat, Dead Last, and Jinchuriki, the vassal of the Kyuubi No Kitsune. But none of these are what he would call himself right now as he chased after his black-haired teammate. Right now he was Uzumaki Naruto, friend of Uchiha Sasuke, and he would be damned if he let the bastard get away without a fight. He made a promise and Uzumaki Naruto **never** goes back on his word.

He clenched his fists as he faced his teammate, knuckles turning white, "What the hell do you think you're doing Sasuke?" He shouted angrily, his voice echoing down the dark chasm that was the Valley of the End. Uchiha Sasuke slowly turned around, a small breeze blowing tendrils of black hair across his face as he opened his eyes revealing the swirling red of the Kekei Genkai of the Uchiha clan, the Sharingan. "Hn," Sasuke stared at Naruto dismissively, "Pathetic," he snarled, the black pattern of Orochimaru's curse seal etching itself on his skin. "I'll kill you," he growled, his Sharingan spinning furiously.

The two clashed together, each fighting for their own reason, Naruto for camaraderie and Sasuke for power. "I won't let you leave the village," Naruto yelled, silently thinking, "_I won't let you leave us_," as the swirling chakra of the Rasengan formed in his hand. Rage mixed with respect in Sasuke's Sharingan eyes as they battled, finally seeing the other not as the dead last, but as an equal. He forced himself to go faster; the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the air as he charged his Chidori, aiming for Naruto's heart.

Naruto's azure eyes widened as the electric charge of the Chidori pierced his skin, he jumped back causing the lightning to bypass his heart by a mere centimeter, nicking the top of the Shiki Fujin seal on his stomach. He trembled in pain, falling to his knees, as Sasuke pulled his hand out of Naruto's chest, shaking his hand to flick the blood off of his hand. He gazed down at Naruto, a self-satisfied sneer on his face as he turned to make his way to the Sound Village where he would gain the power to avenge his clan and kill his brother.

Naruto reached out, grasping Sasuke's wrist in a weak grip, "Sa…suke," he rasped, "Yo-you ca-can't…lea-". Sasuke turned dispassionate eyes to look down at the pale hand clutching his wrist. His eyes narrowed and kicked Naruto's shoulder, causing the blonde to collapse in the sand and left, not once looking back. Naruto coughed into the ground, blood trickled down his chin as he watched Sasuke leave, his vision slowly failing as he fell into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

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A figure cloaked in black sprinted across the surface of the water, stopping abruptly as they spotted the form of a person lying on the ground, a round pool of blood surrounding the body. "Shit," the man cursed, running over to the boy's side. He rolled the boy over, wincing as he saw the hole in the young child's chest, "_He may yet be alive_," he thought optimistically. Two fingers were pressed down on his neck, searching for a pulse, if there was one. The man exhaled slowly as he felt the faint beating beneath the boy's pale skin.

The Nin glanced around, checking his surroundings as he scooped the young male into his arms, and noticed a path of footprints that headed in the direction of Otogakure. Hazel eyes narrowed, and then remembering, gazed down at the boy held in his arms, his grip tightened and he turned, running in the direction of his village with a quiet resolve to see that the boy made it there alive.

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Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Nin, man of a thousand jutsus, and, most importantly of all, the sensei of Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, raced forward, breathing raggedly as the deep pangs of worry echoed in his heart. He paused, head snapping to the right as the scent of burning flesh reached his nose, "Naruto," he whispered, breaking into a sprint, the smell growing stronger and stronger until he stopped in the midst of the Valley of the End, the scent consuming his senses, surrounding him completely. He spun around, eyes searching for the body of his student; the red-crimson color of blood caught his eye.

He stopped, staring down at the puddle of blood that was slowly being soaked into the earth, and he fell to his knees, he closed his eyes, trying to will the image away. There was a crack of thunder and rain began to pour down from the overcast sky. He slowly stood up moments later, the rain having soaked through his clothing, muscles tense and face void of any emotion, he turned around facing the direction of Konohagakure and began to run back to the village to tell the Hokage of the situation, not looking back once.

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Senju Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, sat in the chair behind her mahogany desk, a bottle full of sake in her hand. She stood, walking over to the window, one hand on the wall as she stared out at the faces etched onto the side of the mountain. She swirled the sake, bringing the bottle to her lips, taking a small sip of the addicting alcoholic liquid. The doors to her office burst open revealing the worried face of her apprentice, Shizune, and the copy-nin himself. She turned around slowly with a sigh, her brown eyes weary and tired, "What is it now?"

Kakashi stepped in front of her, standing rigidly still, "Hokage-sama," he started stiffly, kneeling down. Her grip on the bottle tightened, "Report," she ordered, worry worming its way into her heart as she observed the emotionless façade of the man standing before her. He raised his head, the Hokage Monument catching his eye, "_Sensei_," he thought sadly, fists clenching as he stared at the fourth face on the mountain. "Report," Tsunade repeated forcefully, "_He's distracted, what the hell happened?"_

He let out a breath, looking down to the floor, unable to stare at the man who was like a father to him any longer, "Hai, Hokage-sama," he paused before continuing in an detached voice, "I tracked their movements to the Valley of the End. When I arrived there were signs that a battle took place between the two Genin. I," he closed his eyes, "Was too late. There was blood soaking into the ground, blood belonging to Genin Uzumaki Naruto, but no body. I could smell burning flesh and there were remnants of chakra from a Rasengan, a Chidori, and a… fire jutsu."

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The cloaked man sprinted through the village gate's, not stopping to be ID-ed or yell at the sleeping Chuunin who was on guard duty. He quickly made his way over to the hospital, jumping from roof to roof to get there as fast as possible without interruptions by civilians or other shinobi. He burst through the doors, skidding across the gray tile, the bloody form of the boy he found in his arms. Time seemed to slow as everyone turned to look at the two, the loud cacophony catching their attention. "Get a medic over here," he ordered, his voice piercing the deathly silence.

The hospital staff burst into motion, they took the boy from his arms, putting him on a stretcher and running toward the emergency wing, the ninja following them. They reached the swinging doors, one nurse looking over her shoulder, "Sir, You're not allowed back here." He glared at her and kept following them. A medic rushed over, standing over the boy's body, his hand glowing green as he attempted to heal all the damage, "Shit! Normal healing techniques aren't working."

He looked over at the nurse; a stern expression on his face, "Get Itonami-sama," his baritone voice quivered slightly, the nurse, a new intern at the hospital, seemed frozen. "NOW!" he shouted, gathering bandages and doing his best too stop the blood from seeping out of the hole in his patient's chest. "Dammit," he muttered, putting pressure on the wound. He wiped a blood covered hand across his forehead, "_Who the hell would do this to a child?_" He blew strands of auburn hair out of his eyes, keeping his focus on his young patient. Unbeknownst to him, the blood on his forehead slowly disappeared, sinking into his skin. He glanced over at the closed doors, silently wondering why the hell that woman hadn't shown up yet. A crash echoed down the corridor, followed by a stuttered apology from one of the nurses, he let out a relieved sigh, rubbing the back of his neck with a bloody hand.

"Get out of my fucking way!" came the 'dulcet' tones of Itonami as she made her way into the emergency room, pushing up her sleeves, "What the fuck have you done so far?" she asked, quickly taking over the situation. "Basic field medicine," Hachirou answered, stepping away toward the sink to wash his hands. He turned on the faucet as he lathered his arms and hands with soap, "I could only put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. His body seems to have a resilience against regular healing jutsu." Itonami nodded, violet eyes on the boy; her hand hovered over his body, her eyes unfocused as her hand began to move back and forth rapidly, glowing an unearthly violet as she healed all the damage.

The boy suddenly sat up, eyes opening to reveal the slitted blood red orbs of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. His head snapped to the right, his arm extended, and hand around the neck of the medic. Hachirou turned around, hands reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. A hand grabbed him, holding him back by the shoulder, "Do not do anything," the forgotten shinobi whispered forcefully, his hazel eyes watching the scene before him with a strange intensity. The boy growled revealing fangs as whiskers darkened on his cheeks, "**Who are you? And what are you doing to my vessel?**" he asked sounding much like two different voices overlapping one another. Itonami choked, as the hand gripping her neck tightened.


	2. The Seal or Kyuubi's Cage

**Disclaimer: **We do not own Naruto.

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**Chapter One: The Seal or Kyuubi's Cage**

Itonami choked, slowly raising her own hand to grasp the boy's wrist, the hand around her neck tightened, nails slowly transforming into claws that pierced her skin, drops of blood sliding down her bare skin. She let out a strangled breath, her violet eyes narrowing as she dug her own nails into his tanned skin, feeling somewhat satisfied when she saw similar droplets of blood on his arm. Itonami lifted her head to look the boy in the eye, red versus violet, her eyes flashed with an eerie glow and she entered his mind, he flinched back from the sudden penetration.

She eyed the mindscape thoughtfully, "A sewer," a snort escaped her mouth. She calmly stood in the sewer like area, carefully observing her surroundings. She faced a particularly dark tunnel and she stepped forward, the aura of anger and rage growing as she turned a corner, killing intent filled the air. She smirked, violet eyes scanning the area.

Kyuubi growled at the intruder, fangs exposed, "What are you doing here?" he snarled, the chains holding him down to the cage shook as he pressed forward. She turned, looking the demon in the eye, "Don't recognize me, Kyu?" she asked in a sardonic tone, raising an eyebrow. The fox froze, eyes widening slightly in recognition, "Itonami," he said softly, calming down almost instantly. He lay down in the cage, "I'm back, aren't I?" he questioned, silently hopeful, knowing that she would do anything in her power to free him from this jail if it were so.

Itonami nodded, stepping closer to the cell, "I wouldn't touch that," Kyuubi advised, his tails swishing behind him. She ignored his warning and touched the seal; a shock immediately ran through her. She drew back her hand, gritting her teeth aw the sensation lingered for a few more moments. She leaned closer to the small piece of paper that kept Kyuubi imprisoned, eying it carefully. Her gaze moved to Kyuubi, "Who?" she inquired, "Who the fuck did this to you?" she repeated, her voice lowering to a soft, dangerous growl.

Kyuubi watched her carefully as she stepped toward the seal once more, "What are you doing?" he asked softly. "I'm getting you out of this fucking seal, what does it look like?" She pulled out a scroll, quickly unraveling it and dropping it to the ground in front of her; she began to form hand signs rapidly. As she continued to sign, the ink on the seal began to drift down, slowly creeping its way onto to the blank scroll in front of her.

The ink halted suddenly even as she continued her jutsu, "_What the fu-"_ It flashed, filling the room with a yellow glow; Itonami closed her eyes, feeling them burn from the intensity of the light, "I wouldn't advise you to do that," a masculine voice said sternly, grasping her wrist tightly. She opened her eyes after a moment, wanting to make sure that the light had gone before she did so, "Who the fuck do you think you are?" she questioned the entity that had so rudely halted her progress.

"Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure," the blonde man answered, his blue eyes staring down at her. She paused, giving him a once over, "So, I take it that you're the fucker who made this seal?" Minato's blue eyes narrowed, "Yes, that would be me, and I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to remove it," he replied, his voice laced with venom. Itonami snarled at his tone, "You don't scare me, boy. You have no fucking idea who you're messing with, do you?" He snorted, "Frankly, I don't care who you are, but I will tell you this," his grip on her wrist tightened, "If you remove that seal you will release a monster. A monster that attacked _my_ village and killed _my_ people." Kyuubi chuckled, "A monster? Ha. I'm no monster," he smirked menacingly, revealing fanged teeth, "I'm a demon."

Minato glared over his shoulder at the fox demon that was extremely amused by the ningen's behavior. Itonami tried to yank her arm out of his grasp, gaining back Minato's attention, "You better watch your tongue, boy," her lips twisted into a half smirk, "If he's a monster, then I would be the Shinigami himself," she leaned closer to him, her violet eyes flashing, and her voice fell into a deadly whisper, "You don't understand what happened and neither do I, but Kyuubi wouldn't do that unless he was provoked. Now get the fuck out of my way before I lose my patience."

"I will not allow you to do this," he hissed furiously. She let out a laugh, "Who says I need your permission?" He shook, letting out a savage burst of chakra in an attempt to force Itonami out of the confines of his son's mind. The female was pushed back by the wave, but she held her stance, taking a small step forward and retaliating with her own chakra. He gritted his teeth, sending out yet another, more powerful flare of his chakra. Itonami was sent flying back by the sudden surge of the Yondaime's chakra, the flare almost sending her out of the boy's subconscious.

"You don't know what terror you will unleash!" Minato yelled in one last attempt to stop the woman. "_As if that idiot could ever release terror,_" Itonami thought to herself with a snort. Minato and Itonami both released awesome amounts of chakra, the two forces battling for dominance, a flash of white encompasses the occupants of Naruto's mind.

The flash gradually dissipated revealing a panting, stern faced Itonami and a fading Minato. "You will regret the choice that you have made," Minato fell to one knee, his body slowly becoming transparent. In a small voice he whispered, "I love you, my son. May Kami be with you." His translucent body disappeared; his chakra that once enforced the seal was no longer present in Naruto's mind.

Itonami's violet eyes stared at the spot where the man had vanished from, she turned slightly, "You attacked their fucking village?" she questioned, eyes still on the spot. There was a silence in the area before Kyuubi spoke up, "To be completely honest, I don't remember much, only that I looked into Sharingan eyes before blacking out."

Itonami's brow furrowed in thought, after gathering herself she resumed her previous endeavor. The seal started to creep onto the scroll once more, but in a more fluid manner as if whatever was holding it together was gone. She formed the Ram, holding it for a moment before slamming her hand down on the scroll, effectively finishing the first part of the jutsu.

Hachirou fought against the hold, "Let go of me!" he ordered angrily, glaring at the shinobi who was preventing his movement. "Stop resisting and shut the hell up or I'll slit your fucking throat," the shinobi threatened in his ear, pressing the sharp edge of a kunai against his neck. "Dammit, Eriiz," Hachirou spat, finally identifying the drawling voice of the hazel eyed Jounin, "We don't have time for this." He attempted to lunge forward once more, but the strong grip of the Jounin didn't relinquish.

"Stop, Hachirou. She knows what she's doing," Eriiz growled, but Hachirou did not relent and continued his fruitless struggle. Eriiz rolled his eyes, "_Medics_," he scoffed mentally, knocking out the man with a blunt kunai to the head. Hachirou immediately became limp in his arms; Eriiz dropped the man to the blood-spattered floor, stepping over his body.

As Eriiz looked up to see if Itonami had finished, the blonde boy fell back onto the stretcher, convulsing violently, his once damaged chest heaved as he took deep, frantic breaths. Eriiz took a quick step forward to subdue the boy, but was thrown back by a sudden surge of red chakra that surrounded the boy. He shielded his eyes, crouching down on the ground to avoid any more bouts of the vicious chakra. A seal slowly began to form on the boy's stomach, flickering as though it couldn't decide whether or not to stay visible.

Itonami's eyes opened and she burst into action, steadily ignoring the flaring red chakra. Her violet eyes were quickly drawn down to the seal and she lifted her arm, gathering her chakra to the tip of her finger. Her finger began to move rapidly in a pattern only seen by her, an image forming in the air in front of her; it blazed, giving off a supernatural light. She finished, taking her hand back from the airborne creation and forming a fist, flexing her fingers.

She brought down her hand and time seemed to slow. Eriiz's eyes widened and he reached out to grab Hachirou's arm, pulling him away from the two intense auras. He shielded the medic with his own body by instinct, the lesson imprinted in his mind from training, "_Never let the Medic get injured, Eriiz, the death of the medic-nin could result in the death of the team_," his sensei's voice echoed in his mind as Itonami's hand slammed down on the seal.

The room shuddered, as the two chakras hit one another, neither giving way to the other, red and violet crashing together to form one impossible force. Eriiz stared at all this with a disbelieving look on his face; "Oh, fu-" His voice was drowned out by the cacophony caused by the pulsing energy. The walls trembled from the awesome power extruded by the minuscule sphere of light. It expanded, the destructive white light encompassing the area leaving no single object in darkness: all was shrouded in light.

Eriiz shut his eyes, clutching Hachirou to his chest so that if the medic regained consciousness he would not be blinded. Cracks began to form in the walls and the ceiling, no longer being fully supported began to crumble, pieces began falling to the ground. A particularly large piece of concrete sped towards Eriiz and Hachirou, hitting Eriiz cleanly on the back on the head causing the Jounin to slump forward, lying on top of Hachirou.

Itonami's body quivered as she fell to her knees, slightly exhausted by the chakra used by that technique, "One I never thought that I'd have to fucking use," she grumbled mentally, dusting the debris off of her clothing. She slowly stood, holding onto the examination table for some support while she got her footing back, she spat on the floor, wiping a hand across her mouth.

She looked down at the scroll in her left hand then around the once pristine emergency wing of the hospital, "This shit isn't coming out of my fucking paycheck," she muttered, "And I sure as fucking hell am not going to do the paperwork." She moved the boys arm off of his stomach, her eyes peering down at the fading seal, "Namikaze, that fuck, did a good job designing this… for a human."

A laugh was heard behind her that quickly turned into a low chuckle, "Hm, You haven't changed one bit, Itonami," a soft baritone voice purred as strong arms were wrapped around her waist. He grabbed a handful of her dark hair, bringing it up to his nose to take in her delectable scent, "It has been far too long," he murmured, nuzzling her neck. She tilted her head; looking over at the man, "Get the fuck off me. And put some clothes on you fucking nudist." His grip on her tightened, "But I don't have any Ito-nami," he closed his eyes, content to just hold her for a moment longer. She scowled and let the man hold her, it had been a long time and as much as she'd hate to admit it, she had missed that damned man.

"If you two are done, I would prefer it if I didn't have to stare at Kyuubi-sama's ass," Eriiz interjected, sitting up, gray dust covering his body. Kyuubi growled, "Quiet ningen." Eriiz looked away from the two's embrace, "Just saying," he muttered. Itonami turned to look at Eriiz, she quirked an eyebrow at him, "You done playing doctor with Hachirou?" "What the hell are you talking about, wo-," Eriiz looked down to seen that he was now straddling the medics waist, "Ah!"

She smirked, grabbing him by the collar of his vest, "Go get a yukata for him," she ordered nodding in Kyuubi's direction. "Yes, ma'am," he saluted, turning he straightened his collar and muttered, "You old bitch." She narrowed her eyes, hearing the comment and decided to pay him back later as she turned to look down at the blonde boy. "Kyu... How long... How long were you imprisoned in this boy?" Itonami asked, a saddened expression on her face.

"Since the day the gaki was born, I believe." "So...?" "Thirteen years," he stated. She sighed, reaching out to push tendrils of blonde hair off of the boy's face. "What is his name?" Itonami questioned softly.

"Naruto... Uzumaki Naruto."

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Hey guys! Jerri and I would like to thank all of you who have read and story alerted Where Demons Dwell. Believe it or not, we have been working on this story for about a year and we're still constantly editing and changing the contents and characters.

We'd also like to warn you all that it takes about a few weeks to a month to get one chapter out, so please don't be mad if we take a while.

Also reviews are really appreciated! We want to know if we have any mistakes in writing or grammar so we can make this story the best it can be.

One more thing (I'm saying to much but hold on ^-^') Just so you all know we plan to make this several chapters (20 - 30. more if we lucky) and we hope you all support us until the end! Thanks!

- Alia

(Extra scene added February 19, 2010)


	3. New Beginnings

**Disclaimer: **We do not own Naruto!

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**Chapter Two: New Beginning**

"Ung," Naruto moaned, shifting his weight as he rolled onto his side, the IV in his arm pushing in further than it should have causing droplets of blood to ooze out of the small wound. "Ow!" The ex-vessel groaned opening his eyes he whimpered, the bright light making his sensitive eyes burn.

He fumbled for the tube, pulling it out of his arm; he winced as it hurt more than he thought it would. He stared down at the blood that was slowly dripping off of his skin and onto the floor. He shook his head, trying to regain some sense of self, he lifted his eyes, glancing around the room with suspicion, "_This isn't Konoha's hospital," _he thought, eyes narrowing.

"Ah, you're finally awake, eh gaki?" Naruto jumped back, the hospital bed shaking slightly as he turned to the source of the voice. His eyes widened in shock as he spotted the man standing beside him; he had hair the color of flames, long bangs framing his face. He smirked as Naruto stared up at him, he sat down gracefully, his loose fitting blue yukata shifted, exposing a strong chest, "Speechless, hm?"

"You… you're Kyuubi," Naruto accused, his voice raising an octave, "How did you- the seal!" He lifted his shirt, forming chakra he glanced down at his stomach, but it didn't appear. He slowly looked up, cerulean eyes narrowing, gathering his thoughts he finally came to a conclusion, "Konoha could never have done this, so tell me Kyuubi, where are we?"

Kyuubi chuckled, genuinely amused by Naruto's question, "Now this… this is a side of you I've never seen." "You haven't answered my question," Naruto glared, nearly growling. Kyuubi sighed, leaning back in the chair and propping his feet up on the bedside table, he lifted his hand, pushing a strand of red hair back into place. "I'm not entirely sure how the seal was broken, Itonami refuses to tell me the secret to that technique," he muttered the last bit somewhat sullenly, "But you are right about Konoha not doing this; we're in my home village-"

The door to the private room slammed open revealing a weary looking man with a clipboard in his hands. He rubbed at his bloodshot eyes before looking up, rather surprised to see his patient sitting up by himself. "You're awake," his eyebrows were drawn together, "Lie down, I have to check your vitals."

He stepped over, pushing the boy back down onto the bed and lifted his shirt, ignoring the boy's flustered appearance. He leaned closer, peering at the spider web scarring on his chest, and he gently ran a hand across what would permanently be an accessory to the boy's body. Naruto flinched back from the contact, remembering as memories of lightning racing towards him filled his mind. Kyuubi watched with solemn eyes, but said nothing, opting to keep his eye on his ex-vessel.

Hachirou straightened his back cracking as he stood up; he let out a yawn, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm Hachirou, I'll be your attending Doctor for the remainder of your stay," he recited the lines from memory, eyes on the clipboard as he flipped through the pages containing information on the patients medical history and recent treatment, or what little they had. "So far everything looks fine, but you'll have to stay for another day or so; Hospital Protocol." Hachirou signed off on the clipboard and set it on the footboard of the bed, he leaned against the bed frame, closing his eyes; hoping for a few minutes rest.

"Hachirou!" Itonami shouted as she walked down the hall and stepped into the room for a moment, "Get back to work; the beds are for dying people!" He jumped away from the bed, stumbling, "Hai, Itonami-sama," he yawned again, his eyes fluttering shut once more. Naruto slowly sat up, looking over at Kyuubi for an explanation.

The Demon shrugged in response, a small smirk on his face as he watched the worn out medic, "Ito-chan give the kid a break; you're working him to death," Kyuubi said in a sympathetic tone. Itonami waved a hand dismissively, "He's perfectly fine," she said before muttering, "He can sleep when he dies. How's that for a break."

There was a series of three rapid knocks on the door, they all turned to see Eriiz casually leaning against the doorframe. "Sorry to interrupt your little," he paused, "spat, but," he nodded in Naruto's direction, "Fox-boy has an appointment with the council and I intend to bring him there immediately."

Naruto frowned at the nickname that he had just received from the unknown man, "Don't call me that! And why do _I_ have to see-" He was cut off mid-sentence by Hachirou. "He can't leave the Hospital, if they need to see him then they can come here; Hospital Protocol," he stated somewhat grumpily.

"I don't give a shit about _protocol_," Eriiz said, "And if we're not standing in front of the council members in the next few minutes then it's_ my _ass on the line." Hachirou leveled a hard glare at the man; his hand gripping the bed frame tightened and the metal creaked from the force. "He's not leaving this room," he growled. "I'll be damned if he doesn't!"

Eriiz pushed himself off the doorframe and strode to Naruto's bedside, adjacent from Hachirou. "Come on kid, let's get going." Hachirou twitched, reaching out to grab Eriiz's arm, "Don't even put a finger on him or so help me, I'll-" Eriiz snorted, taking a half step closer to the other man, "You'll what?"

Hachirou growled loudly, bearing his newly grown, sharp fangs, he tightened his grip on the Jounin's arm. "Ow! What the-" Hachirou shoved Eriiz roughly, causing the Jounin to fall to the ground. He stared up at the medic, hazel eyes widening as he took in the animalistic expression on Hachirou's face. Hachirou tensed, his fists clenching every so often, short nails were sharpening, digging into his skin.

His chakra flared, a silver aura covering his body, strands of auburn hair lifted, fluttering from the powerful waves of chakra coming out of his body. Kyuubi stared at the medic with an amused expression on his face, lips curling up in some perverse satisfaction as he recalled a previous transformation, one that had an unpleasant outcome.

"Argh!" Hachirou fell to his knees, clutching his head, the waves of chakra stopping abruptly. Eriiz stared in awe, slowly climbing to his feet and taking a step away from the feral medic, "What the hell just happened?" Itonami's eyes narrowed as Hachirou panted on the ground, his auburn hair sticking to his skin, beads of sweat running down the back of his neck, "_I've seen something like this before,_" she thought to herself.

The young man in question looked up, snarling viciously at the trio staring at him. Naruto watched with wide blue eyes, he clutched onto the bed's sheets, he let out a small whimper. Hachirou moved in front of the boy, taking a defensive stance, glaring at the rest of the room, ready to attack anything that made a sudden movement.

"Ku, ku, ku," Kyuubi chuckled. Hachirou's eyes turned to the nine tailed demon, "Why… the hell are you laughing?" he growled. All turned to look at Kyuubi, who was still sitting in the chair nonchalantly, "He's changing into something that'll either kill him or destroy his fucking mind," a smirk appeared on Kyuubi's face, his red eyes flashing, "He's becoming a demon."

Itonami's eyes widened, coming to a revelation, she stepped closer to Kyuubi, "How the fuck is this happening? He hasn't come into contact with-" The fox demon slowly turned his head to look her straight in the eye, "This only happens when a human comes into contact with a tailed demons blood," he stated, starting to stand up.

"And when the hell did that happen?" Eriiz questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. Kyuubi's eyes glanced over to Naruto causing everyone to turn to stare at the boy; he flushed, looking down at his lap. Hachirou snarled at the demon, his muscles tensing. "His blood?" Eriiz snorted, "You're saying this gaki's blood is causing Hachirou to-" "That is exactly what I'm saying," Kyuubi took a step toward the feral man, "Our souls have been intertwined by the Shinigami himself," he paused before continuing, "And throughout time we have bonded physically as well," he took another step, letting his chakra flare, a red aura surrounding his person.

Hachirou, somewhere in his consciousness recognized the power, bowing his head submissively to the demon. "Who the fuck created a seal that could do that?" Itonami asked, inwardly hoping it wasn't who she thought it was. "The kid's father: Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage." Itonami mentally let out a relieved sigh, "_That girl is fucking lucky as hell she didn't interfere."_ Naruto's eyes widened as Kyuubi revealed the name of his parent, "_What? The Yondaime is my…_" his thoughts trailed off, a forlorn expression emerging on his face.

Kyuubi raised his head a little, straightening as the other accepted his position as Alpha; he really didn't want the newly turned demon to try and challenge him; the medic amused him and he'd hate to have to kill the ningen. He grabbed a kunai from Eriiz's weapons pouch, slicing it across his arm, Itonami watched impassively, hands twitching to go and heal the wound. Kyuubi lifted his arm toward Hachirou, drops of crimson blood falling to the ground.

Hachirou watched avidly, he licked his lips unconsciously, staring at the pool of red, his eyes glowing with an unimaginable hunger. He shot forward, biting onto Kyuubi's arm, the taste of flesh and blood causing him to moan with satisfaction, he licked the skin, suckling every last drop of the delicious liquid. Naruto grimaced, looking away from the sight, feeling slightly sick to his stomach as the medic swallowed the blood. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping that he would stop soon.

Eriiz watched as Hachirou's tongue slid across the skin of Kyuubi, feeling both disgusted and aroused at the same time. The medics' silver eyes flashed as he pulled back from the offered arm, catching Eriiz's stare a small smirk appeared on his face. He ran his tongue over his newly grown fangs before licking his lips once more.

He dipped a finger in the small pool of blood on the ground in front of him, bringing the digit up to his mouth he slowly sucked off the liquid. He broke the gaze, turning his head to look up at Kyuubi, "Thank you, Kyuubi-sa-" A hand grabbed him by the collar, dragging him out of the hospital room and down the hallway. He turned his head back and forth, trying to see his captor, "Itonami-sama?" he questioned softly.

Itonami glared down at him, her violet eyes showing her anger, she glanced over her shoulder at Eriiz, "Get the boy and fuck protocol; I'm the one who makes the fucking decisions around here." Eriiz shook his head, his hazel eyes clearing as he awakened from his dazed state. He reached over, taking Naruto by the wrist and throwing him over his shoulder. "WHA- Hey! Put me down!" Naruto shouted indignantly, struggling to get out of the Jounin's strong grasp. "Shut up, gaki, you heard what the old bitch said," a grin lit up his face as he quoted her, "_Fuck Protocol._"

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Hello, Jerri here! We hope that you enjoy this chapter; we certainly enjoyed writing it. If you see any grammatical or spelling errors please inform us so that we may fix them. Critique is also appreciated, so if you have the time please review and let us know if there is anything that we can do to make the story better. Or you can just review to say that we're doing a good job; compliments are always appreciated. Thank you!

-Jerri

(Edited February 19, 2010)


	4. The Council

**Disclaimer: **We still don't own Naruto and probably never will.

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**Chapter Three: The Council**

Naruto huffed, glaring down at the floor, which was about the only thing that he could do while he was still slung over the man's shoulder, and began muttering about how he didn't need anyone to carry him and strange people he didn't even know. "_What's going on here? I need to find out where I am, what I'm doing here, and why no one from Konoha is here to get me!_" he started planning mentally, his eyes narrowed in thought.

His face lit up with a mischievous grin as an idea struck him; he chuckled to himself as the plot unfolded in his mind. Eriiz adopted a suspicious expression as the maniacal chuckle of the boy reached his ears. He slowed his gait, shifting Naruto slightly, "Oi, gaki, what are you laughing about?" "Hehehe," Naruto rubbed his hands together in a conniving manner, forming the tiger seal, "KONOHA'S MOST SECRET AND SACRED TECHNIQUE: A THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!"

Eriiz's hazel eyes widened as a sharp pain shot through his body, lurching forward and collapsing face down on the dirt path. Naruto quickly scrambled to his feet, the hospital clothes covered with a layer of sandy dust, he glanced over his shoulder at the fallen Jounin, sticking out his tongue, "Haha, sucker!" He began to sprint forward, knowing that he wouldn't have much time to make his escape.

He paused when he came to a crossroads in what must have been the village market, his gaze shifted back and forth between the two choices, "_Right or left, right, left, right, left, RIGHT!" _He spun on his heels, making a sharp turn to his right, barely avoiding a tackle from an irate Eriiz, who skidded across the dirt path, turning around in an attempt to capture Naruto. "Come back here, you brat!" he shouted angrily.

"As if I'd be stupid enough to do that," Naruto muttered, running down the road, weaving in and out of the crowd to avoid capture. Eriiz let out a frustrated yell, "I don't have the fucking time for this!" He sped up, wanting to catch the brat as soon as possible. His hazel eyes focused on Naruto's form, spotting a familiar figure he shouted at them, "RIKAMI! Get that kid," he pointed at the escaping blonde.

Rikami whirled around, hearing the harsh voice of her sensei, she fingered the dagger hanging on her belt, taking it out of its sheath, her eyes locked on her target and the she threw the dagger at the blonde's shirt collar. Eriiz's eyes widened, "_Shit! She better not be aiming to kill the brat or my head will be-"_ The dagger shot threw the air toward Naruto, who turned slightly, hearing the sound of something flying towards him, "_I'm too young to die!_" he screamed mentally.

Rikami's aim was true as the dagger went through the clothing and lodged itself in the wall of a building, leaving the kid hanging from the knife. She handed over the money for her purchases to the street vendor who took it without a word and gave her the bag. She made her way over, eying the blonde critically, "_Standard hospital clothing, bags under his eyes, scarring on his chest, lack of height, probably due to malnutrition,"_ she glanced at his hands, "_Weapons: probably only regular shuriken and kunai. All in all, I can take him if necessary_," she thought with a slight nod.

She stared into his eyes and the boy gulped, his blue eyes showing his apprehension. She lifted a hand up and he flinched, her eyes narrowed, and she grasped the hilt of the dagger, pulling it out of the wall. Without the dagger to pin him against the wall, the boy collapsed, wincing as he hit the ground, he moved suddenly, hoping to get away, but Rikami grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back against the wall. "Ninja Code of Honor, page ten, paragraph two, rule number twenty-three, '_Always observe others and your surroundings'_," she quoted in an apathetic voice.

Eriiz finally made his way over to the two, mentally sighing in relief as he saw that Rikami had not killed the kid. He slowed, giving her a pat on the shoulder, "Thanks kid. I owe you one, now hand him over." She gave him a blank look, putting the dagger back into its sheath, "_Never question or refuse a mission_, page six, first paragraph, rule number eighteen" she stated. He rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively, "Yeah, whatever, just stop sprouting that _Ninja Code of Honor_ bullshit."

Rikami frowned, shoving the boy towards him and turned around to walk away, her bag of purchases swinging because of the motion. He frowned at her back, turning back to look at the kid, "Stupid, brat, you're not going to get away that easily." Naruto glared, crossing his arms, "_It was worth a shot… besides I totally could've made it out of here if it wasn't for that girl_." He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but the Jounin picked him up, slung him over his shoulder once more, tightening his grip, and shushined building that the council room was located in.

Itonami let go Hachirou's collar, stepping over to her throne-like chair located near the center of the far wall of the room, the eyes of numerous council members from their seats at the side of the room locked on her form. She turned, violet eyes coolly surveying the room and slowly sat down, crossing one leg other, and leaning back in the chair, holding onto the armrests, an indifferent expression on her face. She looked over at the two chuunin who were guarding the doorway and barked out an order, "Get me Reign… now." "Itonami-sama? Why have you brought him here? He is not needed for this meeting," a council member questioned.

She glanced over at them, as if just remembering they were there, she thought over the situation in her mind, wondering if she should try and explain it all to them. She shook her head, deciding against it and chose to go with a more blunt method, as she was prone to do, "He's a demon now," she stated simply. The council was silent for a moment before the members began talking rapidly, several voicing their disbelief of that statement.

"What? But that is impossible," one voice shouted above the rest, "How could that have happened?" "There'll be a more detailed explanation later, right now there are other matters to attend to," she trailed off as the doors to the room opened and a dark figure walked in. "You summoned me?" a deep baritone voice said, the figure giving a half-bow to Itonami and the council.

Itonami picked up the scroll that she had brought with her, throwing it at him with a flick of her wrist. He snatched it out of the air silently and raised a brow at her questioningly. "Open it," she ordered. Reign carefully unrolled the scroll, silently looking over the information; he nodded, rolling it back up. "For Shizu?" he asked, holding it up. Itonami gave a slight tilt of her head, "Yes."

He took out a kunai, slicing it across his hand, a small spatter of red drops falling onto the wooden floor. He quickly formed some hand seals: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram, and slammed his head down on the ground; small cracks forming in the wood, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Karasu Tei." He drew back his hand as a raven seemingly out of nowhere; it's beady eyes opening to stare at his summoner. "Kuro to Shizu," the Raven let out a caw in response, flapping its wings. He held out the scroll to the bird, the summon took the scroll in its mouth and swallowed it, causing the beads around its neck to flash. Kuro let out a caw, turning it flew into the shadows, disappearing from the room.

"If that is all, may I leave? There is someone in T&I that requires my," his amber eyes glinted, "Special attention." "You are required to attend today's meeting," Itonami said, pointing to a chair, "Sit down." Reign bowed once more, turning on his heels to walk to the chair that she had assigned him to. He sat in the corner, the shadows gravitating over to him. Another group of council members walked in, taking their designated places and sitting in silence as they all waited for the meeting to begin.

Eriiz shoved open the doors to the council room, a scowl on his face as he noticed the two chuunin guarding the entrance. He leveled a glare at them, inwardly cackling when they whimpered in fear, probably having heard horror stories about him from the other chuunin. He strolled into the room, the boy still squirming from his place on the Jounin's shoulder. He grabbed the kids' ankle, pulling him off of his shoulder and placing him on the ground. Eriiz continued walking, stopping as soon as he reached the center of the room, Naruto following his lead cautiously.

Naruto felt nervous, beads of sweat running down the back of his neck, his hands were clammy and his mouth was dry. He cleared his throat, raising a hand to rub at the whisker marks on his cheeks that, unbeknownst to him, were slowly fading away. He fidgeted, shifting his weight from foot to foot, cerulean eyes scanning the faces of the men and women who were staring at him, several not even bothering to hide their interest and a couple who looked like they'd rather not be there at all.

He gulped, spotting a particularly menacing individual sitting in the corner of the room, a place where the shadows seemed darker than usual if that was possible, and a pair of amber eyes staring directly at him. Naruto hunched over slightly, avoiding the gaze and fiddling with the hem of the dusty light blue-almost white shirt that the hospital had provided him with. He let out a yawn, trying to look nonchalant, but failing and glanced over his shoulder at the man that had brought him here, "_But why?"_ he questioned mentally, still suspicious of his actions.

The man ignored Naruto's wariness, standing stock still in front of the council, not wanting to show any weakness in front of the most powerful citizens of the village. His hazel eyes were pointed forward, gazing blankly at the empty chair on a raised platform in the center of the room, broken memories running through his mind. He attempted to clear those thoughts with a small shake of his head and focused on the matter at hand; he had to give his report once more on his founding of the boy who stood just to the left of him.

A throat was cleared, calling all attention to an aristocratic man in a pristine white yukata with silver and blue highlights, he stood from his seat in the first row nearest to the right of the center platform. His pale blue eyes sliding over the room's occupants before landing on Eriiz and Naruto, he tapped the tabletop with the closed fan in his hand. "The Council shall now begin," he stated smoothly, snapping open the fan with a flick of his wrist, a small wave of chakra flowed to a seal on the wall behind the empty Kage's chair. The walls emitted a brief blue glow before returning to their normal wooden color.

The man fanned himself lightly with the fan and sat down, eyes cool and calculating as he leaned back in his chair, waiting for the cacophony that was sure to begin with the room now impenetrable to any spying eyes and ears. There was a moment of silence in the room before a few council members burst into conversation and the rest followed their example until the whole room was filled with half-heard sentences. This did not help Naruto's nervousness in the slightest; in fact, it made him even more aware of the fact that he had no idea what was happening.

Itonami rolled her eyes, crossing one leg over the other and tried to tune out all of their voices. She turned, giving a narrowed gaze at the man who had started the meeting, "Hayashi, call them to order." He gave a slight nod in her direction, "Hai, Itonami-dono." He stood, tapping his fan on the table twice in an extremely smooth manner; the councilmen and women froze in their positions. "Now, now, see here," he flicked the fan open again; "We can't have you acting like a group of rambunctious children. Behave," he drawled in a dangerous voice like silk against steel.

They all sat down, having been properly scolded by Hayashi who turned to face Itonami, "I have called them to order as per your request." "I can see that," the woman snapped, but Hayashi didn't falter in his cool demeanor. "May I begin?" he questioned softly. "That _is _what I have been waiting for," Itonami said through gritted teeth. "My apologies, Itonami-dono," he gave a respectful half-bow and her eyebrow twitched at the suffix added to her name. Hayashi faced the center of the room once more, his pale blue eyes focusing on the two standing before the council, "Eriiz," the Jounin stiffened, "Your report."

"Hai," Eriiz took a half step forward, leaving Naruto is stand behind him to stare at his back. His hazel eyes staring forward, "On my way back to the Village after successfully completing my mission, I stumbled upon the boy," he nodded in Naruto's direction, "Injured and, if I had left him alone, he would have bled to death," he paused. Hayashi waved his fan, "Continue." Eriiz nodded stiffly, "I also spotted a trail of footprints that headed in the direction of Otogakure." "Yes, we understand _how_ you found him," a councilman said exasperatedly, "Buy _why _bring the child _here_?" he stressed. Eriiz looked at the man, "I thought that I felt… I sensed that there was something _off_ with the kid," he stated. Hayashi's eyes narrowed, catching that there was something amiss with Eriiz's answer, that the Jounin was holding something back from his report, "The _real_ reason, if you please."

Eriiz looked down, clenching his fists, "He reminded me of myself," he admitted softly. Hayashi closed his fan, holding it tightly, "Very well-" The barrier of chakra lining the room flashed a light blue, a series of ripples moving across the walls, alerting all those inside that someone wished to enter the council. Hayashi flicked his wrist toward the seal, allowing the person's entrance, and the doors to the council room slammed open, revealing the intimidating form of Kyuubi.

"It took you long enough," Itonami stated, leaving out the part where she would usually insult him with a phrase like '_You idiot_' because of their company. Kyuubi spared her an amused glance as he strode across the room with an amount of elegance that only Demons could have. He stopped, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder; the boy stiffened at the contact, cautiously glancing up at the tall demon.

The Demon pretended that he didn't notice the tensing boy and started to speak, "I am sure that whatever it is that you were about to speak of was important, however, there is something that I have to inform you of… though it starts before most of you were even thought of." Eriiz sighed mentally, "Great another fucking history lesson," he mumbled under his breath. Kyuubi caught wind of the comment, his lips twitched, but he made no response. "Kyuubi-dono," Hayashi pointed his fan at the demon, "What is your reason for this?"

"You will all understand once I have finished," Kyuubi let go of Naruto's shoulder, letting his arm lower to his side, "I believe that you are all familiar with the legend of the Ten-Tailed Demon and the Sage Watatsumi?" he continued, a slight questioning tone in his voice. A majority of the council nodded, recognizing the subject at hand, and those few who had not heard of the tale were quickly and quietly informed by those sitting next to them. Itonami's violet eyes were frozen, staring off into space, her hands clenching the armrests of her chair and her fingernails digging crescent shaped indents into the wood.

"I, and the other Tailed Demons, originate from that monster, "Kyuubi paused, staring at them all for a long moment. "It was Watatsumi, the Sage," he glanced over at Itonami when he spoke, "Who confronted the beast and, utilizing his Kekei Genkai, he separated the Demon's chakra into ten entities; nine of them being the Tailed Demons." "And what of the last entity?" A woman asked softly. He turned to face the right side of the room where the voice had come from, "The last formed the island upon which we live, where it is said that the Sage's soul is anchored so that he may protect those that he loved even after his death." Itonami lowered her gaze, her mind filled with memories of, "_Watatsumi,_" she thought forlornly.

"This is preposterous! What he says cannot have happened," the man, who had interrupted Eriiz earlier, interjected, getting to his feet "My dear councilmen," he looked around the room, "This is absurd, we all know that is but a tale for children," he said with a disbelieving chuckle. Kyuubi's red eyes narrowed, glaring at the man who dared to attempt to make a mockery of the truths he spoke, "Silence, ningen," his voice cut through the air, "You are but a child in my eyes. What would you know of me and mine?" The councilman shrank down in his seat, trying to hide from the Demon's deadly gaze.

Hayashi tapped his fan once more, standing, "This meeting is adjourned, we shall continue at the next." Soft muttering filled the room as the numerous council members got to their feet and began to exit. "I can't believe this," one murmured, glancing over her shoulder to stare at the few staying behind. The door slowly came to a close behind the council, locking with a click. Eriiz left quickly, not wanting to be pulled into anymore of this 'council' business, he had something to do that may contain a bottle of sake and a cord of rope. There was a silence in the room and Reign looked over at Itonami questioningly, "By your leave, Itonami-sama." He stood; ready to go back to the Torture and Interrogation Unit where he had left a particular individual stewing underneath the lamp in the interrogation room. "And just where do you think you're going? Sit back down," Itonami stated, her eyes narrowing on his figure.

Naruto hesitantly looked up at the trio, consisting of Itonami, Kyuubi, and the dark looking man who still sat in the corner, locking eyes with Kyuubi, "How did you know that the Yondaime was my father?" Hachirou climbed to his feet and cleared his throat, they all turned to him. Naruto jumped, startled at the sudden appearance of the medic, "_Had he been there the whole time?" _he wondered mentally. "What the fuck are you still doing here?" Itonami asked.

"Well, to be frank, you never told me to leave," Hachirou replied dryly, dusting off his clothes. A frown appeared on Itonami's face, she stared down at him, "Stop being such a smartass or I'll add another job to your already lengthy list," she threatened. Hachirou winced, thinking of the scroll on his office desk that could already stretch out around half the village. "Never mind him, Ito-chan. We have to do something about him," Kyuubi interjected, motioning to the wary looking Naruto.

"Hey," Naruto whined loudly, "You still haven't told me how you know about _that_." Kyuubi let out a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, "Would you shut up for two seconds," Naruto looked ready to say something else, "TWO seconds!" Kyuubi took in a few breaths, "_I've had to deal with this kid for thirteen years."_ "Kyuubi-sama, I think that you should be a more sympathetic for the kid. I mean, after all, he just found out that his whole life has been… misleading," Hachirou interrupted the silence. "Shut up," Itonami said, repeating Kyuubi's words, "Look, kid," she sighed, "You're just going to have to wait a while before you get any answers." Naruto's eyes dropped to the floor, feeling somewhat defeated; he had still not gotten any real answers to his questions.

Kyuubi stood up, stretching out his back, "Well," he let out a yawn, "It's about time that I connect with that seal." Itonami's eyes widened a fraction, "Shit. You mean all this time you've been here you haven't connected with it yet. Fuck. What're you still doing here? Get going you idiot," she stood, beginning to push him out of the room. Naruto tried to keep his mouth shut, but failed to, "What are you talking about?" he questioned, "_Seal? What the hell was that supposed to mean?"_ Didn't the Kyuubi already get out of the seal on his own stomach? Kyuubi rolled his eyes at Itonami's forceful nature and looked over his shoulder at the blond, "Come on, brat. You'll find out when we get there," he grabbed Naruto's collar.

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Sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out; we were having a really hard time trying to figure out what to write. We hope that this makes sense to you and maybe answers some questions. If it creates any more then feel free to ask and we will do our best to answer them. Thanks!

-Jerri


	5. Connections

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not ours and it's doubtful that it ever will be.

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**Chapter Four: Connections**

The demon and his ex-container reappeared at the village gate, Naruto let out a breath, finally getting a good look at the outside of the village he had been brought to. His eyes widened, "Wow," he breathed, looking up at the mountains landscape, traces of mist lingering around the village's outer perimeter. He hastily shook his head, knowing that even if it was beautiful he still needed to get back to Konoha; he chanced a glance at Kyuubi who was walking away from him?

He fidgeted, looking back and forth from Kyuubi to his one possible chance to escape. Naruto took a small step back and was about to run when Kyuubi's voice reached his ears, "Don't even bother trying to escape, you wouldn't get to far. We're on island, after all." Naruto's shoulders slumped and he crossed his arms across his chest sullenly, turning to follow Kyuubi, "_Stupid Fox,"_ he thought, mumbling about how he could've made it somehow under his breath.

Kyuubi chuckled to himself as he continued forward, his hands clasped behind his back. They kept walking for a while longer until Kyuubi stopped, causing Naruto to run into his back, he bumped back, rubbing his nose, he scowled. "Naruto," Kyuubi started, looking over his shoulder at the blonde child, Naruto gazed up, curious at the change in behavior. The demon continued, now knowing that the boy was paying attention, "I know how much you want to go back," Naruto snorted disbelievingly.

Kyuubi's eyes narrowed a fraction, "How do you think I felt, being locked in a cage and unable to do as much as walk around?" he snapped. There was a silence as Kyuubi calmed himself, taking a few deep breaths, closing his eyes. "Can you just give this place a chance? Here people won't care what you are; they won't treat you like a monster." He slowly turned to face Naruto, kneeling so they were eye to eye, and placed his hands on the boys' shoulders, "How many people will _really_ want you back?" He stared into his eyes a moment longer before standing up straight and moved to keep walking, "Think on it," Kyuubi said.

Naruto was silent, his eyes almost glazed over as he began to think about what the demon had said, "_Sakura? No… she never really liked me… Kakashi? I doubt he even notices that I'm gone. Baa-chan, well, she's too busy." _The corner of his eyes wrinkled in uncertainty and despair, "_Would… anyone even notice that I'm gone?"_ Kyuubi glanced over his shoulder at Naruto, feeling the waves of sadness flowing from the boy, he paused, waiting for the boy to catch up to him and ruffled his hair reassuringly.

He draped one arm over his shoulders, and slowed their gait, coming to a stop at a complicated design on the wall, "We're here," he said softly. Naruto looked up, stopping his thoughts for a moment, "We're here?" "This," Kyuubi reached out one clawed hand, lightly touching the engraved image, "Is where I connect back with the village, where I protect the village from harm." Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion, "Connect? What do you mean? Are you like a part of the village?" he asked incredulously. "Essentially, yes," Kyuubi answered, resting his palm against the center of the giant seal, his eyes closing.

Naruto lowered himself to sit down on the ground, one hand cupping his chin as his blue eyes watched the demon curiously. There was a ruffling noise from behind him, he whirled around quickly, not able to catch himself in time and ended up falling flat on his face on the grass. Itonami emerged from the shrubbery, her violet eyes staring down at him, she quirked an eyebrow at his position, then stepped over him to get to Kyuubi, "Are you ready, then?" Kyuubi, almost reluctantly, removed his hand from the wall and met Itonami's eyes, giving one slight nod of his head.

She put a hand on his shoulder, her nails digging into his skin and drawing blood, he gave her a look and she shrugged in response. He rolled his eyes, turning back to face the seal and holding out one hand; their chakra flared to life, a red-violet haze covering the both of them, flowing from Kyuubi's outstretched hand and into the seal, the color of the ink changing from a dark purple into a flaming red. He dropped his hand, letting out a relieved sigh as a sense of fulfillment washed over him.

Naruto lifted his head, "Is that it?" he asked in an unimpressed tone. Itonami glared and Kyuubi just smiled in response, taking a step toward the boy. Behind him the seal fluctuated, trying to accommodate the chakra that it had been deprived of for so long; the center of changed into a pure white as a burst of chakra exploded from the wall, dust and leaves swirling in the force. Slowly the dust settled revealing a coughing Naruto being held by Kyuubi, "What--"he hacked, "was that?" Kyuubi shrugged, "That? That was it." Naruto's jaw dropped, was the demon being serious? That was, that was—"Awesome," he began flailing about.

* * *

"Gaara-sama, I wish to have a word with you," one of the councilwomen of the Suna Council interjected, politely. "Yes, what is it?" Gaara asked in a slight monotone voice, turning his head to look up at the individual. "I was sent to inform you that you have been chosen as a candidate to be the Fifth Kazekage," the woman informed him, giving a half-bow to Gaara and taking a step back. "Why-" The red head was interrupted by a sudden feeling in his chest, a surge of content warming his heart, his eyes softened and the beast that was sealed inside him calmed. The woman gave a small smile, noticing the miniscule change, which made her own nerves calm, "Gaara-sama?" she prodded.

Gaara stood from his chair, the legs scraping against the wooden floor, "You may tell the Council that I accept the candidacy," he said softly, turning to look in the direction of Onigakure, his light turquoise eyes flashing. Shukaku shuddered from inside his host, feeling both amusement and slight fear at the feeling of a very familiar wave of chakra seeped into the desert sand, "_You're one lucky bastard, Kyuubi._" Gaara's chakra flared to life, whipping grains of sand around him.

* * *

Nii Yugito, the vessel of the Nibi, woke with a start; pleasure and fright mixed to form one emotion and the Nibi shook within its cage, "_He's returned,"_ the demon purred. The woman sat up, brown-blonde hair spilling over her shoulders and a light sheen of sweat covered her body, "He?" she questioned softly, wondering who Nibi was speaking of. She was taken by surprise when the cat's blazing blue chakra fluctuated, sending out a signal of it's own. The Nibi chuckled lightly; it's pupil-less yellow and green eyes glowing in the confines of her host's mind, "_Kyuubi."_

_

* * *

_Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, looked up from his desk, staring out the window as a faint stretch of chakra reached him, the demon inside of him shaking as it rose to wariness, "_Kyuubi…"_ the Sanbi whispered, its normally closed right eye slowly opening and its voice slightly weak as it too sent out a small wave of chakra in reply. Yagura frowned, "_Kyuubi? What is this of that you speak, Sanbi? Tell me," _he stated in a firm tone, yet the demon went back into its slumber without a word. The frown on the Mizukage's face deepened and he gripped his staff tightly, "_I'll find out eventually," _he thought, going back to what he was doing.

* * *

Roshi of Iwagakure felt a tingle up his spine as he was perched on top of a particularly large boulder, he sensed the chakra racing towards him, and stroked his solid red beard, hearing the voice of the Yonbi in his mind, "Kyuubi, eh?" He slowly stood up, his joints cracking and stretched out his arms, "I'm getting a little old for this." His eye caught the flash of silver from the sun hitting the ring on his thumb, he kissed the metal, "I'm going to need all the luck I can get," he grumbled, jumping off the rock he began to run back to his village to return the scroll in his pocket to the Iwakage.

Han, the vessel of the Gobi, stood at the gates of Iwagakure, waiting for Roshi to return, his metal kasa tipped to shade his eyes from the blaring sun. His head slowly lifted when he heard footsteps and spotted Roshi's head of red hair, "Roshi," he stated, his gravelly voice echoing in the silence, pushing off from the wall to walk over to his fellow Jinchuuriki, "There is ano-" he stopped mid-syllable, feeling the tendril of chakra. His head snapped up, looking towards Onigakure, before looking back down at Roshi, his eyes hardened. "I know, I felt it too," Roshi mumbled, patting Han's armor-covered chest and walking through the gate. Han stared out at the extensive landscape a moment longer before turning to follow Roshi, the beast within him stirring to life.

* * *

Utakata carefully tied the orange sash around his waist mechanically; it fell around his waist as he let go of the silk, the stoic expression on his face never changing. He paused, closing his eyes as he sensed a familiar chakra. The Rokubi let out a soft gurgle, a bubble of chakra escaping from its body. He froze for a moment, noting the strange occurrence for the future before grabbing the jug off of the bedside table and exiting his room, he had something that he needed to attend to.

* * *

Fu opened her eyes revealing red-orange orbs, she glanced up at the top of the waterfall, her brow furrowed, "Is that what we think it is?" she murmured out loud. The Nanabi also voicing its slight confusion, "_Chakra flare," _it advised. Fu, trusting the demon sealed inside her did just that. The sensation quickly stopped, recognizing her own chakra in return, "Hm," she adjusted the red straps of the cylindrical object that was carried on her back, "We have to go back to Takigakure; we have something to report to our Kage."

* * *

Killer Bee flipped of the tree branch, landing on his feet and leaving a slight impression in the ground, "Man, I am the best," the Hachibi groaned, "_Please don't rhyme."_ Killer Bee ignored the beast; "I'm way better than the res-" He stopped, tilting his head. A slow smile appeared on his face and he stretched his arms out, "That's for real, it's Kyuubi I feel." The Hachibi rolled its eyes, "_Why couldn't I have got a host that doesn't rhyme?" _Killer Bee scoffed, "Don't be that way Hachibi, you're very lucky that you got me."

* * *

Kyuubi closed his eyes for a moment, his body relaxing as he felt the responses. He let out a breath and a small serene smile, making him look years younger. "Ito-chan," he started softly as he opened one eye, "Take him back to the village for me." Itonami grabbed Naruto's shoulder, "I'll do better than that. I'll bring him to his new living quarters." Naruto startled, "Wha-" She formed one hand seal and shushined away.

The two reappeared seconds later inside a comfortable looking room, Itonami looked around in slight awe and disgust, "_Don't know how that kid keeps it so clean in here,_" she thought. She stepped toward the door, glancing over her shoulder at Naruto, "Stay in here, I'll tell Hachirou the news." She faced the door with a smirk as she anticipated the look on Hachirou's face. She closed the door behind her leaving a semi-frustrated Naruto in the room. He let out a sigh, and then noticed just how soft the bed looked, a yawn burst from his mouth and he fell over on the bed, "_I'll just sleep for a little while."_

About an hour later Hachirou hesitated before the door, knocking twice before attempting to open it, "_It's strange to have to knock on the door in my own house," _he thought silently. He peeked into the small guestroom, "Naruto?" he called out, not seeing the boy. Naruto's head of blonde hair shot up from underneath a pile of blankets. Hachirou let out a chuckle, "There you are," he let out a breath, walking into the room to sit on the edge of the bed. He rubbed his hands against his thighs, his palms slightly sweaty. He glanced over at Naruto and silver met blue, he startled.

Naruto stared at the medic, wondering why he was 'living' with him. He inwardly sighed, waiting for the other to talk. "We need to get you situated," Hachirou said finally. "Since you're going to be staying here there's something that we need to get you." "And that is?" Naruto prodded. "A tattoo," Hachirou answered causing Naruto's eyes to widen. "A tattoo?! Like the ones that the Anbu have?" the blonde questioned excitedly, leaning closer to the other.

Hachirou felt a small smile appear on his face at the boy's enthusiasm, he reminded him of… Hachirou shook his head, "Yes and no." Naruto stopped his antics, pouting, "What kind of answer is that?" he grumbled. "Well, it is like the Anbu's in that they signify that you are from this village, but everyone has one, even the civilians." Naruto's brow furrowed, "But how can you tell the Shinobi from the civilians? And why not headbands like the other villages?" he questioned.

Hachirou took a deep breath preparing to explain, "Each rank has a different symbol," he frowned, "Civilians… this is going to sound odd, but they're eggs. You know fragile and, well, breakable?" Hachirou glanced over, checking to see if he was still paying attention. Naruto nodded seriously, listening intently to the explanation. Thus Hachirou continued, "When a child enters the academy the egg begins to hatch and cracks start to form. And once they graduate the egg disappears, leaving a baby robin in its place. It slowly grows as you gain more knowledge and experience."

Naruto scratched at his cheek, thinking, "So it evolves?" he asked with a confused expression. Hachirou nodded absentmindedly, "Yeah, and when you're promoted it changes. Chuunin have sparrows," he began to roll up his sleeve as he talked, "Jounin have falcons." He tapped his upper arm, "Like this one." Naruto peered at the falcon tattooed onto the man's arm; its wings were extended as if in flight and it seemed to be flickering between a dark indigo and silver then gold. Naruto blinked, wondering if he was imagining this. He looked up at the still talking Hachirou who didn't seem to notice it happening even though it was on his own arm. "Anbu are hawks, then the Hunter Nin are vultures, which I think is fitting, and lastly our kage has the image of the Ten-Tailed Beast itself," he paused, "The Phoenix."

Naruto tilted his head, a glint of confusion in his eyes, "What's a Phoenix?" Hachirou's jaw dropped, his mouth closed and opened, "You don't know what a Phoenix is?" he asked slowly. Naruto shook his head and Hachirou sighed, his shoulders slumping, "I'm going to have to educate you, aren't I," he muttered. The medic stared up at the ceiling for a moment in a 'Why me?' kind of moment while Naruto waited for an answer. Hachirou stood, his knees cracking and stepped over to the door, "C'mon we've got to go get you your tattoo." Naruto scrambled after him, "Wait! Aren't you going to answer my question?"

Hachirou strode out of his house, Naruto following behind him. The older man slowed his gait, waiting for the other to catch up. Naruto glanced over at the medic, "Where are we going to get this tattoo?" "The Akkisumi Clan compound-" Naruto almost spoke again, but Hachirou continued, knowing the question that would follow, "They are one of the main clans of Onigakure, always have and always will be. They have a special ink based Kekei Genkai. It allows them to manipulate the ink and to make it almost come to life. The seals on the village's wall were made with their help. It's actually quite fascinating, they have in their bloo-"

Naruto began to tune out Hachirou's medical jargon and instead turned his attention to the village; he hadn't gotten a very good look at the buildings earlier when he had been attempting to escape. His blue eyes tried to take everything in, his head moving back and forth as they walked down the path. He noticed that the village was, for lack of another word, quiet almost peaceful. He tensed, spotting a couple of villagers out of the corner of his eye. "_Relax Naruto, you're not in Konoha any longer, just… smile," _he thought to himself with a rapid shake of his head He gave a wide grin and was slightly surprised when they returned the gesture. "-ruto, Naruto," Hachirou nudged him gently, "We're here."

Naruto looked over and felt his jaw drop at the sight of the large compound, "Wow, is tha-" "Yes, it is, come on," Hachirou laughed softly, pushing the boy forward towards their destination. Hachirou reached out, knocking on the door. "Come in," called a feminine voice. He opened the door, a small silver bell ringing when it did so.

A woman, who looked to be no older than twenty-five, sat behind a desk with a particularly large scroll open in front of her and a small paintbrush in her hand. She looked up, "Ah, Hachirou-kun," she dropped the brush and stepped over. She hugged him lightly, leaning back her eyes became stern. She smacked his arm, the sound echoing in the room, "Where have you been? You haven't come to see me in a very long time!" she accused.

Naruto snickered at the sheepish look on Hachirou's face as the woman scolded him; he immediately stopped when her gaze landed on him. He gulped, feeling slightly nervous. "And who is this?" she murmured curiously, her eyes looking over the boy. She smacked Hachirou again; "Introduce him to me," she ordered. "Ah, Sayuri-sama this is Naruto, he is new to the village," Hachirou said quickly, rubbing at his arm. Naruto gave a half-bow, She stepped over to the blonde boy, peering intently into his eyes before a smile lit her face.

She reached one hand out and Naruto flinched, her eyes gained a glint, but she continued the movement, running a hand through the golden yellow hair. She caressed his cheek and put her hand under his chin, lifting his head a little. She hummed softly, "It's nice to meet you, Naruto-kun." "You too," Naruto murmured, averting his gaze. The woman stepped back over to the desk, "You're here for your tattoo then?" she asked, opening a drawer. Hachirou answered for Naruto, "Yes, that's what we're here for." Sayuri silenced the medic with a single look. She pointed to a chair, "Sit down, please."

Naruto carefully walked over and lowered himself into the chair. Leather straps immediately locked over his wrists and ankles. He struggled, eyes widening. "Don't mind those," Sayuri stated almost absentmindedly, "They're just a precaution." She brought a small glass jar that was filled halfway with a black liquid. She reached for a small brush that was lying on top of a gleaming silver tray. She placed one hand on his shoulder, pushing him back onto the chair, "Relax." Hachirou leaned against the desk, "Calm down, it's not like the civilian tattoo's with all those needles," he shuddered.

Sayuri gently dipped the brush into the jar, soaking the tip with the black liquid. She turned, pressing the brush against Naruto's tanned skin and carefully began to sketch the tattoo. She finished the design a few moments later, blowing softly on the ink to help it dry. The sensation caused goosebumps to appear on Naruto's skin. She let out a breath, walking over to a sink, and turned on the faucet. The restraints that were holding Naruto back retracted and he sat up, rubbing at his wrists.

"Don't stand up just yet, there's only one more thing that I need to do," Sayuri said over her shoulder, leaving the paintbrush next to the sink. She formed the hand seals: _Ram, Tiger, Serpent, Rat, Monkey_, and slammed her hand down onto the tattoo, "Shinka Sakui No Justu." She twisted her hand to the left and the design under her hand shone a bright gold. She withdrew her hand, wiping it off on the apron tied around her waist, "You can get up now, go look in the mirror."

Naruto almost jumped out of the chair, running over to the full-body mirror to take a look at the tattoo now decorating his upper arm. "This is so cool," he grinned, staring at the design and flexing his muscle to see it move. Hachirou smiled at the boy's excitement, it was catching. A knock came from the door behind the desk and it slowly opened, revealing the form of a young male teenager, "Moth-" The pale boy froze, seeing Naruto and the two locked eyes; cerulean meeting obsidian in a moment that felt like forever. Sayuri gave the boy a hug, "This is my son," she gave him a soft look, ruffling his inky black hair with one hand, "Sai, I'd like you to meet Naruto…"

* * *

Shinka Sakui No Jutsu: This jutsu is totally made up, if there is one with those hand-signs then sorry.

And there you have it. It took quite some time to finish writing this chapter we finally did today during seminar. So sorry for the wait! We've been busy so it took longer than usual; Spring Break, Prom, that Volcano in Iceland. If there are any questions/comments/critique that you wish to ask/give please do so. Thanks and Happy Tuesday!

-Jerri


	6. Unexpected Travels

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not ours.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Unexpected Travels**

TWO YEARS LATER

"Hey dickless," Sai appeared behind Naruto and Rikami, startling Naruto for a moment. The blonde glared at him, "Sai, for the last time stop calling me that!" he shouted, crossing his arms over his chest. The female samurai ignored their banter and leaned back on the railing behind her, her eyes coolly scanning the area for any sign of their sensei. After all, according to rule number twenty-four of the Ninja Code of Honor: '_You are being observed. Always.' _It had never let her down before and she was sure that the jounin was getting some sick satisfaction out of watching the two male teens argue with each other.

"Why? I thought you liked the nickname." Sai smiled, stepping around to face Naruto. Naruto was taken aback by the smile even after two tears he was still not used to the careless grin it just didn't feel right. Naruto sighed, "Who would like that kind of nickname?" he muttered, kicking at a loose piece of rock in the pavement.

Three kunai flew through the air at the teens. Rikami grabbed one out of the air, twirling it around her index finger, her gaze turning to the duo who seemed unaware of the sharp kunai that were flying towards them. Naruto extracted a kunai from his holster, deflecting the blow. Sai simply dodged it using the least amount of effort by tilting head.

"Good to know that your guard is up, brats," Eriiz said, appearing out of nowhere. Naruto snorted, turning to his sensei, "When isn't it?" "May I inquire as to how much longer you will be greeting us in such a fashion?" Rikami questioned. "When I die, that's when," Eriiz stated, swaggering over to the group, his hands shoved into his pockets. Naruto let out a laugh, Rikami gave a soft chuckle, and Sai simply smiled at the remark, each recalling the first time such a thing had happened.

* * *

"_Now, you brats just stay right here. I'll be right back," Eriiz gave them a warning look before shushining away, leaving a cloud of smoke in his place. "WHAT?" Naruto shouted, "What the hell? Why'd he leave right in the middle of training us?" Naruto huffed in annoyance, glaring at the fading smoke. _

"_Beats me…dickless," Sai answered. Naruto's head snapped in his direction, "I am NOT dickless!" Sai raised an eyebrow disbelievingly, "Prove it then." "Wha-" Naruto blushed, the blood running to his cheeks, "No way, you pervert!" _

_Rikami closed her eyes, feeling slightly annoyed. She recalled the Ninja Code of Honor and calmed herself, "If you really wish to know then ask later. For now, let us continue training." She leaned back against the rock behind her; eyes still closed and entered a meditative state. However, Naruto and Sai had ignored her suggestion and continued their bickering; she tried her best to shut out the noise._

_Swiftly three kunai whizzed through the air, each one grazing a teen's cheek. "Kami, you're all so fucking annoying," Eriiz half-shouted, appearing in front of the group. He turned, pointing at the two males with a kunai in his hand, "You two need to stop fighting, it'll ruin the team's dynamics," he looked over at Rikami, whose eyes were now open, "And you. You need to stop them before I beat the living hell out of them." He glared at the three, his shoulders heaving. _

"_Do anymore of that shit and I'll ram a kunai up your nose," he threatened, making a motion with the kunai in his hand, "I've done it before and it ain't pretty." With one final glare, he shoved the kunai back into the holster on his thigh. The three genin quickly went back to their training. Unfortunately for them Naruto and Sai could not stop arguing with one another and they both ignored Rikami's comments, hence they were constantly targeted by Eriiz's kunai._

_

* * *

_To this day Eriiz still threw the kunai out of habit even if the arguing has lowered to a minimum. "So, what is out mission?" Sai asked, turning his blank gaze to Eriiz. The taijutsu master took a scroll out of the pack on his back and tossed it to the raven-haired male, "You all are taking the chuunin exam." The three teens froze, turning to him with a skeptical look on their faces (only Naruto really, Sai and Rikami had both quirked eyebrows).

Naruto decided to voice the question that was running through all of their minds, "Why? We're already-" "Special Jounin, yeah I know that," Eriiz waved a hand dismissively, "But the Council and Itonami has decided that it's time to reveal our Village to the rest of the ninja world." He gave a feral grin, "And I for one am going to enjoy it."

Rikami looked over, "But Iron is already aware, after all that is why I am stationed here." Eriiz glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "Yeah, but they're not ninja, they're _Samurai_ and they don't exactly communicate with the Hidden Villages that often." "But why now?" Naruto questioned. Their team leader shrugged, "Not quite sure, if you want to know all little details, which I'm counting on at least one of you knowing before we leave, ask Hachirou."

"Why is our team specifically asked for in the mission details?" Sai asked, his brow furrowed as he read over the scroll. Eriiz looked somewhat smug, "We have something no other team in Onigakure has." The three exchanged a glance, not knowing what they had but other teams didn't. Eriiz rolled his eyes at them exaggeratedly, then pointed at each of them in turn, "A prodigy from the Akkisumi clan, a samurai-ninja, and…" he faced Naruto, crossing his arms over his chest, "You."

Naruto blinked, "Me?" he looked dubious. Eriiz nodded, "Got it in one." He gazed down at the younger blonde speculatively, "The Exam is being held in Konoha and because you're familiar with that Village and the participants involved you are necessary for this mission," he said. A frown appeared on Naruto's whiskerless face and Said watched him feeling concerned. "Well, pack your bags, say your goodbyes, and rest up. We leave early tomorrow," Eriiz stated, slapping Naruto on the shoulder, "Main gate at 0500." He strutted away, down the pathway.

The three teens began to stroll towards the more condensed part of town. Rikami stopped suddenly, turning to face her two teammates, "I must ready for the mission. A ninja-" "Must always be prepared," Naruto and Sai finished for her monotonously. She paused, giving them a strange look, and then steadied herself, "I must take my leave." She patted Naruto on the shoulder, giving him a reassuring look, and then nodded to Sai meaningfully, glancing at Naruto from the corner of her eye.

She walked off, taking the short journey home, silently hoping that Sai would get her message to assure Naruto. A while back Rikami and Sai had discovered – If by 'discovered' you mean torturing, bribing, sneaking, and asking Naruto himself – the truth of their teammate's past. The revelation had left a fuming Sai and an appalled Rikami, both vowing to never let such a thing happen to him ever again. Each would not hesitate for a single moment to save the other.

Naruto and Sai were and are inseparable; there was rarely a moment when they were not together. If one were to take just a glance at the two they would believe that the boys hate one another, but their feelings were quite the opposite. Ever since the day that they had met at the Akkisumi estate the two have had a connection that neither wanted to get rid of. They continued on their trek, heading towards their favorite restaurant No Tails; a popular dinner, frequented by shinobi and civilians alike. Naruto led the way to the back of the restaurant, the last booth on the left hand side.

Ryan, the owner, was a handsome 20 year old with sandy blonde hair and green eyes. He stepped over to the table, notebook in hand and apron tied around his waist. "Welcome to No Tails, I'll be your waiter-" He looked up from his notebook and a grin appeared on his face, recognizing his best customers, "Hey guys! Haven't seen you in a while, how'd your last mission go?"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but was quickly thwarted by Sai; the pale boy's hand covering his mouth. He glared over at him and Sai simply smiled. He turned to Ryan, "It went well. I'll have the usual please." Sai lowered his hand from Naruto's mouth so that the other could place his order. "I guess I'll go with the yakiniku," Naruto decided.

"Alright then," Ryan jotted down the orders, "D'ya want any desert, free of charge for my best customers." He smiled brightly at the two. Naruto straightened in his seat at the word 'free', "Cool, can I have a… strawberry sundae?" he questioned. Ryan nodded. "I'll take the green tea shaved ice," Sai interjected before Naruto could order anything else. Ryan finished writing with a dramatic flourish, "Great I'll have it ready for you in a sec." Ryan winked, and then turned to greet another customer.

Naruto sighed softly, his eyes staring into an empty space. There was a moment of silence and Sai let out a breath of concern. "Naruto?" The blond did not hear the other and continued to stare out into space, his mind wandering. "Naruto," Sai repeated, raising his voice a bit. Naruto woke from his daze and tuned his eyes towards the raven-haired teen. "Yes...?" Sai leaned forward, his brow furrowing, "This mission is really bothering you, isn't it?" Naruto stared at Sai for a moment before slumping, "…Nothing get's past you, does it?" Naruto sighed, "I…I don't…" The blonde clenched his fists, looking down at the table.

Sai frowned, trying to think of something to cheer up the blonde, when an idea struck him. He picked up his chopsticks and threw them at the blond. "Ow..." Naruto glared at the raven. He picked up his chopsticks and threw them at the other who swiftly dodged the utensils Naruto frowned for a second then smiled at Sai who returned the gesture.

Ryan returned with their food, barely dodging the thrown chopstick, he glanced back at it and shook his head, carefully setting the plates down on the table, "Here you go, enjoy." Naruto grinned, "Awesome." The Australian laughed a bit, "Y'know, sometimes I think food is the only thing that'll cheer the ol' mate up." Sai let out an amused breath and nodded, "I believe that you're right."

* * *

Eriiz opened the door to the Kage's office, hesitating for a moment before he entered. Kyuubi was perched on the couch to the right, across from Itonami who was sitting in an armchair to the left. Hachirou was doing paper work at the Kage's desk, which was at the far end of the room, a calligraphy brush rapidly moving across a piece of parchment.

Itonami turned to the jounin, her violet eyes flashing with curiosity, "So, how'd he take it?" Eriiz slowly took a seat next to Kyuubi and sighed heavily, "The brat is not too happy about the mission. And, personally, I can't blame him for it." Kyuubi let out a breath, scorn lining his features, "You would expect that seeing as he was treated as shit when he was there."

Hachirou's pen stopped moving, "Do you think he'll be okay when he gets there?" The medic asked softly. Eriiz looked away form the kind-hearted male and up towards the ceiling, "He's a strong kid, plus he has Rikami and Sai." "They have you as well Eriiz," Hachirou added. Eriiz scratched at the scar on his cheek and then rubbed the back of his neck, feeling slightly embarrassed. Itonami smiled softly, "You all bicker like retards, but you're there for each other." Kyuubi chuckled.

Hachirou turned to Itonami, wondering if he should ask, "I was just thinking, who is going to act as the Kage during this mission?" All the others turned to him and he flushed slightly, "I mean, the Godaime died a few years back and we don't have anyone slotted for the position. It would look really bad for the village if we don't-" "Stop, rambling, Hachirou," Itonami interrupted, "I have someone in mind." Hachirou looked confused, "Who?" he asked, putting down the pen. Itonami grinned mischievously, "Why, you of course."

Hachirou spluttered, "Me?" the medic looked panicked, "For what reason?" he quickly asked. "Because I fucking said so," Itonami retorted, flipping her hair before adding, "And I just really don't want to go." Eriiz laughed at Hachirou's dismay, and the medic glared at him. "Shut it Eriiz!" The Jounin just continued to laugh, almost falling out of his chair.

Kyuubi's slight smile fell as his thoughts traveled to a more serious note. He glanced over at Itonami and spoke softly so that the medic and the Jounin wouldn't hear, "Do you think we'll succeed…?" Itonami frowned, the corners of her eyes wrinkling in worry, "Let's hope we do."

**

* * *

**

Eriiz stood, his arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot in slight impatience as he waited for his team to show up. His eyes darted from the ground to the road in front of him and then back to the Village. The sound of footsteps reached his ears and Rikami appeared by his side, a few minutes earlier than the decided time. Her mask was pulled up and she was wearing a newly made forehead protector. Sai and Naruto were slowly walking towards the other half of their team, both wearing a troubled look on their faces and a hitai-ate on their foreheads.

Eriiz frowned, "C'mon, get your asses in gear so we can get this show on the road." He picked his pack up off of the ground and slung it around his back. He pulled a headband out of his pocket and slung it around his neck. Even though Eriiz personally preferred the tattoos, however the Village didn't want anyone to know of its secrets so the stupid things were essential to the mission.

The two teens quickened their paces, fearing the wrath of their sensei. As they passed Eriiz, he reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair, "Cheer up brat." Naruto was slightly surprised at his sensei's act of kindness, but glad for the reassurance and smiled, "Are you getting soft on me, sensei?" Eriiz smirked, "You wish kid, you wish." Sai and Rikami showed the faintest traces of smiles on their faces. Eriiz gave a mischievous grin and cleared his throat becoming serious, "Now let's get going before I shove a kunai up your asses." The group nodded and moved to leave when a voice stopped them.

Hachirou stepped over to them, his brow raised and a cream colored robe wrapped around his body, opening slightly in the front to reveal a fishnet shirt, "You didn't think you'd be leaving without your Kage, did you?" he questioned, placing the silver triangular hat on his head.

* * *

Tell us what you think. Please? We're not really sure about this time skip business. I mean it's nice for us and a little easier to write, but if you think that there should be more about what happened between then and now let us know. It's a little shorter than the previous chapter, but it didn't take as long and we are working on the next chapter. Till next time!

-Jerri


	7. Welcome to Konohagakue

**Disclaimer**: We still don't own it.

* * *

**Chapter Six: Welcome to Konohagakure**

Eriiz led the team forward, Hachirou behind him with Sai and Naruto at his sides and Rikami taking the back. Together they all sped over the water toward the mainland and away from the island that was Onigakure, chakra enabling them to do so.

"It's been a while since I've left the Village," Hachirou murmured. "And why's that?" Naruto questioned, shooting a glance at the medic. "I haven't been given many missions lately and-" "Itonami makes him do all of her chores," Eriiz finished with a mocking chuckle.

Hachirou shot a glare at the Jounin's back and was about to lecture Eriiz about how to speak to a Kage when Rikami spoke for the first time since leaving the Village. "Sensei," she began, her gait slowing and her body relaxing save for the small twitch of her fingers. "What is it?" Eriiz asked somewhat irately. Rikami's eyes flashed at his tone, but she calmed herself, "I sense someone following us," she stated monotonously.

Eriiz turned around so that he was running backwards, "Are you shitting me?" Sai looked over his shoulder at his female teammate, "Who is it?" he asked softly. She replied just as quietly, "I believe it to be someone from our Village, I can feel the slight pulsations being given off by the tattoo, but one cannot be too sure."

Hachirou kept his pace, closed his eyes and began concentrating, the blue falcon on his shoulder slowly evolving into a golden Phoenix. Naruto saw the outline of gold glowing from beneath Hachirou's sleeve. "_What the hell is that?"_ he wondered mentally. Hachirou's silver eyes opened barely a second later, "You need not worry; it is Reign."

Eriiz gave him a look, wondering how the medic turned 'Kage' knew such a thing, but he relaxed, turning back around. Naruto glanced at Hachirou worriedly. "Hachirou, your shoulder…" he trailed off. Hachirou looked down at his covered shoulder, "What about it?" "Uh, never mind, thought there was a bug or something," Naruto said.

The group slowed its pace but kept moving forward, waiting for the interrogator to catch up with them. Seemingly out of nowhere Reign descended from the overcast sky, a pair of black wings extended behind him and dropped to the surface of the water at a run, right next to Eriiz. The taijutsu master quirked an eyebrow and Reign gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, slowing until he was running beside Hachirou, their pace completely in sync.

Rikami's eyes glinted, thinking of the Ninja Code of Honor and was about to open her mouth to speak when Naruto hurriedly interrupted her, "Why is the creepy-interrogator guy here?" Reign slowly turned his head to stare down at the blonde whom he had interrogated for information about Konoha quite some time ago. Naruto shivered at the cold amber eyes looking at him, "_This guy freaks me out."_ "By protecting the Kage you protect the Village," Reign quoted.

Rikami stared wide-eyed at his back, "_Ninja Code of Honor, page twelve, paragraph three,_" she thought to herself. Sai looked back at her hearing a gasp, "Rikami?" he questioned curiously. She gave a small shake of her head, "It's nothing," she murmured.

"Stop talking back there," Eriiz half-shouted over his shoulder. "_Damn, they never shut up,"_ he thought to himself, unaware of the irony of this statement as he and Naruto were the ones who never really knew when to shut up. His hazel eyes narrowed, peering off into the distance.

"Alright you brats, get ready for a change of terrain." He tensed his legs, crouching down on the surface of the water and leaped towards the land without so much as making a ripple. The Jounin leader landed on one hand, executing a standard double back flip and landed on his feet. He wiped off his hands, turning to face the group.

"Show off," Naruto muttered, walking to the landmass, Sai, Hachirou, Reign, and Rikami following behind him. He held out a hand for Sai, pulling the other boy up onto the ground, Sai holding onto his hand a few seconds longer before letting go.

Eriiz sniffed haughtily, "You're just jealous of my skill, something you'll never have." Naruto glared at his sensei playfully, "Whatever, can we keep going now, or do you want to show off some more?" Eriiz ignored the comment, "Land of Fire this way," he pointed to the west, "Let's move."

Roughly thirty minutes later the group finally set foot in the Land of Fire. They had almost reached Konohagakure when Rikami sensed someone waiting in the cloister of trees beside them. She alerted her team, forming a couple of signs with her hand. "_One enemy, left, unknown."_

Naruto caught the slight movements of her hand and signed back, "_Acknowledged."_

Leaves and branches ruffled as the person stepped forward into the light; the Onigakure shinobi tensed, ready for a fight. "About time you got here," a feminine voice drawled. Reign relaxed his stance, lowering his hands to his side. "Shizu," he greeted.

Shizu, a young looking woman with violet hair and eyes like- "Itonami," Naruto stated slowly, "Is she Itonami's daughter?" Shizu rolled her eyes, "No, we just look alike." She turned to Reign, looking slightly bored, "That scroll you sent me," she began. Reign nodded. "It was complete crap. Reign raised his eyebrow, "Tell me later."

Eriiz glared at her, "What the fuck are you doing here? I thought that you were on a mission." "I am," she answered simply, "This is a side mission to my mission." She turned back around, facing the three teens, "Who wants to go first?" "Whoa! Wait a minute," Naruto held his hands out, "Go first for what exactly?" His blue eyes narrowed.

Shizu quirked an eyebrow, turning to the other adults, "They don't know?" Hachirou gave Eriiz an accusing look. The man coughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I may have neglected to mention it," he admitted. Shizu smirked, "That makes my job a little more difficult… and a little easier because they don't know what to expect." She took a scroll out of her pack, unraveling it quickly. "What is that?" Naruto wondered.

Shizu turned her violet eyes on the sole female member. "Hold still. It'll only hurt a lot." Rikami glanced over at her sensei and that's when Shizu bit her thumb, spreading a liberal amount of blood on one of the seals and smacked her on the back of the neck, sending the samurai ninja stumbling forward. She let out a gasp, falling to her knees. A seal was visible on the back of her neck for a few more seconds, emitting a bright red glow, until it sunk into her skin.

Both boys gaped in surprise, Rikami had never let out a hint that she was in pain since they had known her; this could not be good. "Shit," Sai slowly inched away from Shizu, fear adorning his pale face. Naruto stood stock still, watching the transformation that Rikami was going through in shock. Rikami's facial features changed, giving her smaller lips, higher cheekbones, lighter eyes and tanner skin. The only physical feature that remained the same was her hair color, which was silver.

"It completely reconfigures facial features and skin tone?" Naruto thought aloud in amazement. Hachirou nodded, proud of his student's ability, "This seal allows a person to change their identity without the use of chakra since it's a blood seal," he stated.

Eriiz grimaced, remembering when he had first used it, "Hurts like a bitch though." Hachirou spared him a glance before looking back at Naruto, "After the first time, it doesn't really hurt, but the pain is unforgettable." Hachirou shivered, feeling a chill go down his spine.

Shizu turned to Sai, "Next." Sai backed away from the woman, until he hit a tree and could not escape any further. The seal specialist dragged her bloody thumb across the scroll, smirking as she slapped the teen on the forehead. "Ah!" Sai slumped against the tree, cradling his face in his hands.

The pain suddenly stopped and he was left breathing heavily. He lifted his hands off of his face. His previously soft features had changed to be sharper, his eyes became a sparkling green, and his hair changed to a longer, soft brown. The only recognizable feature was his pale blemish less skin. Sai remained sitting down, trying to regain his breath.

Shizu appeared next to Naruto and slammed her hand onto the blonde's forehead. His head was pushed back. He paused, not feeling anything, "Huh?" Shizu chuckled softly, waiting for the transformation to happen.

"Ung! Ah!" Naruto fell to his knees, his forehead pressed against the ground and his hands sunk in the dirt, clutching at it as he tried to suppress the pain. When it subsided, Naruto let out a breath that he had for the entirety of the jutsu. He raised his head and Eriiz let out a low whistle, "Damn." Hachirou chuckled.

Naruto had deep red hair, almost maroon colored, his skin was a shade or two lighter, his cheekbones were higher and his eyes lightened to a soft blue. Shizu smiled smugly, "Gorgeous." Eriiz couldn't contain himself any longer, "You look like Kyuubi-sama's kid!" Hachirou tilted his head, staring at Naruto, "You're right," he commented, obviously amused.

Naruto growled a bit, but took the comment as a compliment. The now red head looked around for his teammates and found them blatantly staring at one another, trying to get used to each others new looks. "Alright, we'd better get a move on before we're late," Eriiz stated, slapping Naruto on the shoulder, "By the way, for the duration of this mission you will be called Koudo." Shizu shot a glare at the Jounin, "Nami ain't going to be happy about that." "Well _Itonami_ ain't here, is she?" Eriiz snapped back and began walking forward, his team, Hachirou, and Reign behind him.

The group slowed as they arrived at the gate, Naruto looked up, his eyes dimming slightly at the sight of his old home. They reached the gate guards station, Izumo and Kotetsu bowing in respect to the new visitors. "Welcome to Konohagakure," Izumo started, "You must be the representatives from Onigakure." Eriiz nodded, "Yeah, that's us."

"Great," Kotetsu said feeling slightly relieve. He gestured in the direction of the Kage's Tower, "Tsunade-sama has been waiting for your arrival." Izumo's gaze turned to Reign, "Onikage-sama, I will be escorting you to the office." Reign let out an amused chuckle. "I am not the Onikage," he replied. Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged a glance, both thinking that he was the most intimidating one. "What?" Kotetsu asked.

Eriiz pointed to Hachirou, "He's our Kage." Both Izumo and Kotetsu turned their attention to Hachirou, who had been absentmindedly staring at the interior of Konoha. Confusion spread across the guards' faces, the man seemed to be no older than the two of them and very unaware of his surroundings.

Hachirou took notice of the eyes on him, "Did I miss something?" he questioned. "Just get your ass in gear Hachirou-_sama,_" Eriiz said in a sarcastic tone that all took notice to. The two guards looked at each other, both thoroughly confused by the motley crew of ninja from a new village. How could that Jounin treat his Kage like that?

"Well, we must be on our way," Izumo gestured for the Kage and Reign to follow him. Reign stopped for a second to whisper to Eriiz, "Watch everything... _especially _him."Eriiz nodded, his eyes glancing over at Naruto for a moment. Kotetsu coughed softly, gaining the attention of the remaining group,"An escort will be arriving in a moment to show you around the village, I would do it myself but someone has to watch the gate."

Eriiz shot Kotetsu an understanding glance, then returned to glaring at nothing. Naruto fidgeted, the anxiety of returning to his home village hitting him at full force. Sai frowned; he leaned closer to Naruto, letting their arms touch. The recently turned redhead smiled appreciatively and leaned into the touch. Naruto relaxed visibly, the warmth from Sai seemed to invade his body, driving away the anxiety.

A blush started to creep up on Sai's face; Naruto was gradually drawing closer to him and would soon be leaning almost completely on him. Sai had noticed his feelings for the blond not too long ago but has no real intention of telling the other, their friendship was so precious to him he did not want to ruin it, but moments like this still get him a bit flustered. Luckily for him Naruto is a bit oblivious when it comes to romance so he hasn't noticed at all.

The four ninja stiffened as they sensed the presence of a new ninja headed their way. Naruto's eyebrows furrowed, he recognized the chakra. A few seconds later Shikamaru walked around the corner of the street, his hands shoved into his pockets and a bored look on his face. He spotted the group and sighed, "What a drag."

He slowly made his way over to the team, his feet dragging across the ground, "Follow me," he said, turning around to walk in the direction that he had come from. He had been escorting teams through the Village all day and really just wanted to go lie down and watch the clouds.

Eriiz followed after the kid, some punk ass Chuunin and felt a scowl appear on his face. He glanced around the Village, glaring at the shinobi and civilians that were staring at them. "_What the hell is their problem?" _he thought. Naruto fell to the back of the group, walking very slowly, his hands at his sides, taking in the Village. There were no glares, no rude words, no anything. They just seemed to be curious. His shoulders slumped, staring down at the ground. He kicked at a pebble, somewhat angrily.

Sai and Rikami exchanged a glance and she stepped forward next to Shikamaru, quietly beginning a conversation with him. Sai waited for Naruto to catch up with him before continuing to walk at a more sedate place, their arms brushing, Sai silently offering comfort to Naruto. Naruto glanced over at him, a shaky smile on his face, which was returned by Sai.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sai asked softly, chancing a look at the others face. Naruto hesitated before nodding, "I'm fine." Sai's eyes narrowed a fraction, "You don't have to lie to me." Naruto sighed, looking back down at the ground and kicked at another pebble, "I _will be_ fine." "Okay," Sai replied simply, "That's all I wanted to know."

Naruto and Sai quickened their pace settling for a spot next to their sensei. Eriiz glanced at the two, his eyes lingering on the reserved look Naruto had put up. Eriiz let out a sigh, bored with this little guided tour and decided that he didn't want to follow the chuunin. He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "I'll see you brats later."

With that statement the Jounin swaggered away leaving his three subordinates with Shikamaru. They ignored his behavior, as they were used to him doing such things, but Shikamaru quirked a brow, "_He's leaving his team in a foreign village?"_

Shikamaru glanced back over his shoulder almost lazily at the two males he was escorting around the village. Finding that they weren't too far away he faced forward again. Normally, the chuunin thought, he diddn't have to see them to know that someone was there, but these Nin from Onigakure were different.

He couldn't hear their footsteps nor feel any sense of chakra save a small almost unnoticeable pulse that came off of their person. They were rendered almost invisible to his senses and it was only by sight that he could insure they were there and this made the genius suspicious.

He watched the girl from the corner of his eye and let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping even further, "How troublesome," he muttered, knowing that he'd have to report his suspicions to the Hokage; there was no way that these three were regular genin or even genin at all.

They rounded a corner, walking by Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. Naruto stiffened slightly seeing the place; he almost stopped, but a soft push from Sai's hand on his shoulder made him continue walking. Shikamaru had spotted the odd behavior and his eyes narrowed a fraction at Koudo's actions. He filed that away for his later report.

Beside him Rikami watched the Konoha shinobi. She mentally recited excerpts from the Ninja Code of Honor to keep herself calm, specifically the chapters that were dedicated to 'Diplomacy with Foreign Ninja' and 'The Importance of Emotional Control'. As they continued on at this slow pace she raised her arms, arching her back. The hem of her black shirt lifting slightly to show a healthy amount of tanned skin, not that her outfit did much to hide anything.

She tilted her head back and forth purposely coming to a decision that she would report to Eriiz and Onikage-sama about her observations of the Nin watching her teammates. She ran one hand through her silver hair and followed their guide, unaware of the 'lovestruck' expressions on the faces of a couple of genin.

Naruto and Sai trudged along behind their female teammate and Shikamaru; Naruto feeling less wary after the conversation with Sai. His muscles slowly relaxed as they kept walking until they came to a sudden stop outside of a building that was specifically for the representatives from Onigakure.

Shikamaru motioned to the building behind him, "You'll be staying here for the duration of the Chuunin Exams," he said with a yawn, turning to walk back. The three watched him move away. Rikami and Sai stepped towards the door, wanting to enter and secure the building. Nartuo's blue eyes stared into Shikamaru's back and raised his voice a little so that the Nin could hear him. "Thank you."

Shikamaru froze a moment, his foot still in the air, but Naruto didn't notice as he had walked into the building, closing the door behind him. Shikamaru slowly put his foot back on the ground, turning his body to stare at the closed door calculatingly for a minute or two. He quickly whirled back around and changed his destination to the Hokage's Tower; Temari could handle escorting the rest of the groups.

* * *

Hachirou followed behind Izumo, surveying his surroundings and keeping on guard, not that he really needed to as Reign was watching his every move and observing all other shinobi and civilians alike; making sure that there were no threats to his Kage. Izumo stopped abruptly, and turned to the Chuunin guarding the Hokage's door, "Is she ready for our guest?"

The Chuunin nodded. Izumo looked back to Hachirou and Reign, "I'll be taking my leave now." He gave a slight bow and turned to walk back to the gate where he would finish his shift. Hachirou glanced over at Reign, who took a small step forward to stand at his side. "_Here it goes,"_ Hachirou thought to himself, pushing open the door to the office and stepping in.

Tsunade looked up from her desk, subtly eying the two men who walked into her office. She stood, bowing slightly in greeting, "It is an honor to meet the Kage of Onigakure." Hachirou bowed also, "No, the pleasure is all mine to be meeting the beautiful Kage of Konohagakure." Reign gave a small confused look to his new Kage.

Tsunade let out a guffaw, sitting back down. She stared at the Onikage for a minute, observing him. "You're much younger than I expected," she said thoughtfully. He smiled in return and shrugged. The two watched each other a moment longer. Hachirou cleared his throat, leaning forward in his chair and taking out a scroll from his pack. He laid it out on the Hokage's desk, pushing it towards Tsunade with two fingers. She looked down at the scroll curiously, "What's this?" she wondered out loud.

Hachirou folded his hands in his lap as Tsunade slowly unraveled the scroll. Her brows raised as she read through the document, glancing over at Hachirou for a second before continuing to read. She lowered the scroll, but didn't say a word. Hachirou decided that this was the opportune moment and began to speak. "This document was signed by all thirty-five members of the Council as well as my three advisers and myself."

"I see..." Tsunade continued to looked over Hachirou, "Why now?" Hachirou unfolded his hands and stood. He strode over to the window next behind the Hokage's desk. His gaze traveled over the repaired parts of the city to the area's still in ruin from the attack on Konoha two and a half years ago. "With the appearance of the Akatsuki, it would be benifitial for Konoha and Oni to create an alliance. Although we may be new to you, I reassure you that our forces are strong. Strong enough rival yours, if I may be bold enough to say so."

Tsunade leaned forward in her desk, resting her chin on her folded fingers in contemplation. "Let me think about it," she said after a moment. She snapped her fingers and a Anbu member appeared. "Tiger will take you to your temporary residence in the Village." Hachirou gave a polite bow to the Hokage and turned to follow the Anbu. Just as he and Reign were exiting the office a Chuunin stepped towards the doors.

Shikamaru paused, letting the men through. Hachirou glanced over at the young man, flashing a smile before turning back to follow his guide. Shikamaru gazed at them for a moment, "_Onikage?"_ He shook his head, striding into the office. "Tsunade-sama," he stated.

The Fifth put down her sake, looking at him irately; she had just gone through a meeting with the Onikage and received a offer for an alliance and she hadn't gotten her morning dose of sake. "What is it Shikamaru?" she questioned. He lifted his head to look at her directly, "I have reason to believe that the team from Onigakure is not what they seem."

* * *

I apologize for the wait, it's been a busy couple of months and all. Exams were taken, the SATs were taken (by me), School ended, I went on vacation with my family, I'll be moving house shortly; those ate all the excuses... though I really shouldn't be giving any. If there are any questions/comments/critique that you wish to ask/give please do so. Have a happy Monday!

-Jerri


	8. Ramen, Books, and Chess Oh My!

**Disclaimer**: See all previous disclaimers because it is still not ours.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Ramen, Books, and Chess. Oh My!  
**

"_I have reason to believe that the team from Onigakure are not what they seem."_

Tsunade sat up in her seat, giving a stern glance to the Chuunin, "Clarify" she ordered, her eyes narrowing. Shikamaru nodded before beginning his report. "The Genin that were brought here do not seem normal."

He paused before continuing. "While I was escorting them I found that they did not give off any noticeable Chakra and were practically invisible to all of my senses, with the exception of sight. That level of stealth is not something that is so easily achieved by Chuunin, let alone Genin. Highly experienced Jounin are, to my knowledge, the only ones capable of such a skill."

Tsunade's brow furrowed in concentration, taking in the information given to her, "Is that all?" she questioned. Shikamaru shook his head, "Their Sensei left them to go off on his own. What Sensei would leave three Genin unattended in a foreign village?"

Tsunade sighed; she leaned back in her chair and took a swig of her sake. She let out a breath, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. The appearance of this new village had taken its toll on her; she could feel herself aging.

She massaged the bridge of her nose, thinking, when an idea struck her, "Shikamaru," she started slyly. "Yes, ma'am?" He stood at attention, inwardly suspicious of the tone of her voice. "I have another mission for you," she stated. Shikamaru groaned.

"For now, you are to watch the group from Onigakure. I want you to report anything you find suspicious, understood?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, her hands folded on the desk. "Hai, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru bowed and turned to leave the room. The moment the doors closed behind him, Tsunade whipped out a case of sake, "This job will be the death of me."

Outside of the office, Shikamaru sighed, shoving his hands back into his pockets, his shoulders slumping back into their usual position. He slowly began to make his way down the hall and out of the tower. "_Now I won't have any time for cloud watching." _He let out another sigh, "What a drag," he muttered, kicking at the ground as he went to setup a tail on the shinobi from Onigakure.

* * *

Sakura let out an airy laugh, nearly falling off of her stool. Rock Lee put a hand on her shoulder, preventing the fall; she sent him a small smile. Kiba was in motion, excitedly talking about the last mission that Team 8 had been on.

"I want Ramen, guys, it's been forever!" 'Koudo' whined. Despite his change in skill and attitude, Naruto still loved Ramen. "It has only been three days since you consumed a bowl of that nutrient-lacking food," Rikami stated dryly.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder, her green eyes widening, ""Naruto?" she said softly. She scanned the Ramen stand, searching for the blond, but he wasn't there. Her shoulders slumped slightly. She spotted a redhead and two other teens standing just outside the stand, her eyes softened they reminded her of... She stared at them.

The rest of the Rookie Nine, plus Team Gai, noticed Sakura's lack of attention, all of them turned to see what she was looking at.

Naruto gasped, putting a hand on his heart, "How dare you say such a thing!" Rikami rolled her eyes and was about to argue her point more when Sai interrupted. "I would also like to have Ramen," he declared, stepping between his two teammates.

Rikami raised a brow at the comment, having thought that Sai didn't like Ramen. She began to voice her belief, "I thought that-" Sai shot her a glance that said 'shut up'. Her head tilted, silently asking 'Why'. Sai motioned over at Naruto discreetly. A look of understanding appeared on Rikami's face. "Fine, but I choose tomorrow," she said, knowing that Naruto would want to eat Ramen and Ramen only.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, dragging his two teammates into the stand. He sat down on a stool, fidgeting excitedly, unaware of the multiple people staring at him, including the Ramen Chef. Sai quickly sat down next to him. Rikami rolled her eyes once more and sat as well, taking note of the staring group to their left. She glanced over at them, raising an eyebrow.

The Konoha ninja quickly looked away, busying themselves, with the exception of Kiba. He stared over at the foreign kunoichi. He was elbowed by Ino, getting him out of his stupor. He rubbed at his side, glaring at the blond, "What the heck, Ino?" She wiggled her eyebrows, "Someone catch your attention?" she asked innocently, motioning to the girl.

Kiba scowled at the blond girl, "Shut up."

Her eyes narrowed in response. She huffed, turning away and fiddling with her chopsticks. "Fine, be a jerk. I just thought that you should talk to her before someone else does." He found his gaze moving back to the silver-haired girl whose name he didn't know.

"You totally like her," Sakura interjected. Ino nodded her agreement.

"Yea—what... no," Kiba let out a nervous laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck, "I don't know what you're talking about." He quickly looked down at the table.

"Oh don't be shy, you love sick puppy," Ino waggled her eyebrows, making the others chuckle and thoroughly embarrassing Kiba.

Sakura laid her chin atop her hand, "I think that you should go talk to her. Who knows, she may see past your smell and go out with you."

Kiba growled at the two females, "Oh, fuck you guys. I could totally put the moves on her. I got game."

Ino let out an amused snort, "What game? You couldn't woo a horny gorilla." Kiba bristled at the insult and the other guys snickered at the insults being thrown at their friend. Shino shifted, turning his head away from the group, his amusement hidden. Hinata glanced down at her bowl, tapping her fingers together, silently wondering if she should say something.

Kiba clenched his fists, "You guys are all assholes. You know what? I am going talk to her and before you all know it she'll be all over me." He paused, hovering over the seat, "But what if she doesn't like me or already has a boyfriend?" He blinked; that had come out rather whiny.

Ino scoffed. "Stop being an idiot and go talk to her," she ordered, pushing him off the stool. Kiba stumbled forward, glaring over his shoulder at Ino. She motioned for him to walk over, her eyes threatening bodily harm if he didn't.

He straightened, stepping over and cleared his throat, "Is this seat taken?" he asked somewhat gruffly.

That interruption stopped the three's conversation, all turning to look at him. Glancing over at her teammates Rikami searched for some kind of hint, but none was found. She shook her head, "No, it is not." Kiba felt a quick bout of relief and quickly sat down.

Naruto and Sai exchanged a look; this guy had better not be doing what they thought he was doing. Ayame stepped over to take their orders, "What can I get you?" she asked, her voice slightly playful.

'Koudo' perked up, "Three miso ramen!"

* * *

Hachirou and Reign exited the Hokage tower and started along one of the main streets of Konoha. Both men were silent; Hachirou contemplated the event that had just taken place, wondering if the Hokage would accept the treaty. He sincerely hoped that she would, as it would benefit not only Onigakure, but Konoha as well.

Reign glanced at the temporary Kage and noticed the worried expression on the younger man's face. "You did well, she will agree," he stated simply.

Hachirou gave him a small smile, not expecting the comment but appreciating it. "Thank you, Reign."

The two returned to the silence and continued on their trek when Hachirou noticed Shizu's bookstore. He paused at the door and looked back at Reign, "I'm going to check out what Shizu has on her shelves. You go on ahead." The interrogator nodded and started off again. Hachirou stepped into the bookstore, gazing at the assortment of books that Konoha had to offer.

Hatake Kakashi rounded the corner of the romance novel section, his fingers flipping through the pages of the new Icha Icha Paradise book. A blush formed on his cheeks as he started to read the chapter. Kakashi looked up from the pages, sensing someone in front of him and nearly dropped the book at the sight of an unknown man's intrigued features.

Hachirou stood quietly, unaware of the Jounin staring at him, flipping through the pages of the small hardback book he held in his hands. Kakashi cleared his throat, closed his book, and walked closer to the clueless Kage. The Copy-Nin glanced at the book in Hachirou's hand; it read: Namikaze Minato: Savior of Konoha.

Kakashi coughed. "That man was my sensei," he said nonchalantly, leaning against the bookshelf, his arms crossed over his chest. The short statement gained the attention of the silver-eyed man. "Wow, you were most certainly lucky," Hachirou's eyes traveled from the Copy-Nin to the cover of the book, "To have a man of such capability as your mentor." Kakashi smiled fondly under his mask, immediately taking a liking to Hachirou.

The Kage's eyes slid up and down Kakashi's body. And oh did Kakashi notice that. He straightened up, "My name is—"

"Hatake Kakashi, am I right?" Hachirou interjected, tucking the book under his arm, "Your name was mentioned in the book, although briefly." There was a pause of silence. Hachirou's eyes widened, "Oh no, did I get it wrong, I'm sorry. I just assumed that since you said he was your sensei that you were—" he bit his lip.

Kakashi's eye stared at the other man's lips, shaking his head. He waved one hand, "No, no, you were right." Regaining his suave attitude he asked, "And you are?"

"Hachirou," the temporary Kage held out his hand, "It's nice to meet the Copy-Nin of Konoha." Hachirou smiled, his worry melting away and tilting his head to the side.

Kakashi took the hand "_So cute_," he thought, _"I will make you mine!" _He reluctantly let go of the shorter man's hand.

Eriiz walked into the store, "Oi, Hachi—rou." The Taijutsu master halted in his step. He took notice to the very lecherous glint in Kakashi's exposed eye, a lecherous glint that was aimed at Hachirou. "The fuck," he growled, clenching his fists, a small amount of killing intent leaking out of his aura.

Hachirou saw the pissed look on Eriiz's face, "What's got your panties in a bunch?" When Eriiz didn't retort back Hachirou's face twisted into worry, "Hey, are you alright?"

Hachirou stepped forward and placed a hand on Eriiz's forehead. The hazel-eyed Jounin leaned slightly into the hand, nuzzling gently. Both the Medic and Copy-Nin noted the gesture. Hachirou blushed and Kakashi frowned, his eye narrowing. "U-uh, you don't feel like you have a temperature," Hachirou stuttered, quickly lowering his hand.

Eriiz calmed down, just a tad. Then he realized just what he had just done. "_Shit,_" he smacked himself on the forehead. _"Did I just—What the hell is wrong with me?"_ Eriiz inwardly shouted."D-damn straight I feel good." Eriiz sidestepped away from Hachirou.

Kakashi was silently fuming. "_I can't believe he did that! It was as if he was staking his claim. I'll be damned if I let the fine thing go!"_ Kakashi glared over at the Jounin.

Eriiz turned towards the door, "Come on, the others are waiting," he snapped. Hachirou nodded, a light blush still on his features. He turned to Kakashi, "I'll be taking my leave now Hatake-san. It was very nice to meet you." The Medic held out his hand once more.

Kakashi smirked taking this chance, "It's all right gorgeous, I'll see you later," he said suavely. The Copy-Nin took hold of Hachirou's hand, "Next time, don't bring the Chuunin," he added, nodding at Eriiz.

"Uh, what—" Kakashi kissed the hand over his mask and shushined away.

Eriiz stared in silent rage, "_Did he just call me a—__That effing bastard!" _he cursed mentally, putting the name 'Hatake Kakashi' on the top of a very long mental list of people/objects that he wanted to kill.

* * *

Reign continued down the streets of Konoha, taking in the actions of its people. He watched as people would converse with others, masking various signs of contempt and disgust for the other, sometimes anger and guilt appearing as they socialized with what seemed to be loved ones. Reign chuckled inwardly, taking amusement in the falsehoods that almost everyone seemed to be portraying in this village.

He made his way down the busy streets into a small park area where various groups of people went to enjoy a bit of silence and company. Young couples could be seen cuddling and flirting the day away, and chess buddies playing a game for old times sake. Reign made his way over towards a particular game of chess.

Two jounin sat playing a heated game, each close to capturing the others king. Ibiki and Asuma had lost themselves in their strategies, both unaware of Reign's presence. The raven summoner glanced at the board and noticed Ibiki had the upper hand. With one quick move of the hand, Reign sacrificed a rook to make an opening for the knight which checkmated Asuma's king. Both men stared at the board for a moment and took in what had just happened.

"Damn it," Asuma frowned. He leaned back from the board taking a drag of his cigarette.

Ibiki smirked and looked up at Reign. "Such an unorthodox tactic," Ibiki took in the stranger's appearance. A loose fitting black long sleeve shirt, slacks closed at the ankles with dark red tape and black boots to top it off. Reign's ebony eye's focused on Ibiki as the other man's eyes traveled over the cross shape scars on his bottom left cheek and above his right eyebrow.

"Where are you from, stranger?" Asuma interjected, a glint of interest in his brown eyes.

Reign shifted his weight from his right leg to his left, "I am an emissary from Onigakure."

Ibiki raised and eyebrow, "The new village. I assume you arrived today then." The raven closed his eyes and nodded. Ibiki looked him over once again, noticing that the emissary had completely hidden himself from all of his senses. His eyes narrowed slightly, putting his guard up because of the new arrival.

Asuma looked back at the chessboard and sighed, "That was one hell of a move, where did you learn to play?"

Reign opened his eyes and directed them to the jounin, " I didn't learn, just applied the strategy that fit."

"Well, that was one hell of a strategy then." Asuma stood and placed money on the table, "You only get half because you had help."

Ibiki smirked and took the money. Asuma nodded in goodbye to the two males and left the area. Ibiki turned his attention back to the raven haired emissary, "I didn't get your name."

"I never offered it." Reign said curtly

Ibiki laughed shortly at the rudeness in the statement, "Never the less, would you like to play a game?" Reign glanced at the board then back at the other male. He opened his mouth to respond when interrupted.

"Reign!" The raven glanced in the direction of the shout.

Eriiz walked casually towards Reign, Hachirou close behind. The Jounin raised an eyebrow when he noticed the person sitting across from Reign. "Hey, we should get going," Eriiz said abruptly.

The raven summoner nodded then turned to Ibiki, "We shall have to postpone our game for a later date."

"Sure thing." Ibiki responded, with that said Reign nodded goodbye and proceeded to make his way towards his companions. The three left the scene, both Eriiz and Hachirou staring at Reign's back as they headed to the hotel.

Ibiki stared after the three. His eyes flickered to the rooftop of the building to his right, immediately noticing the pair that was watching the shinobi from Onigakure. He hummed thoughtfully, grabbing the black king off of the chessboard and shoving it into his pocket. "A later date indeed," he murmured.

* * *

Sai shifted, waking up from the erratic movements Naruto was making. The raven-haired teen quickly sat up, realizing what was wrong. He turned his gaze to the spot beside him. Naruto's face was contorted, showing the mental anguish his nightmare was giving him.

His fists clenched the blanket pooled around his waist. Sweat was beading down his forehead and glistened on his exposed chest. Sai reached down, almost touching the redhead, when Naruto sprang up, one hand covering the scarred wound on the middle of his chest. He panted, glancing around wildly, a ring of red around the pupil of his eyes. The half demon grabbed onto Sai, hugging him tightly, afraid that if he let go he would return to the hell that was his nightmare.

Sai returned the embrace, placing a kiss on the other's forehead. He ran his fingers through Naruto's hair in a comforting pattern, murmuring words of comfort in the other's ear. Naruto's labored breathing slowed to normal, and the embrace was loosened, but not disconnected. Sai was now straddling Naruto's waist, fingers entangled in red hair. The half demon had his arms wrapped around the raven's lower back and his face tucked into Sai's neck, breathing in his scent.

Naruto let Sai comfort and protect him. He lifted his head from its place on Sai's chest. The two stared at each other, the raven's hands caressing the sides of Naruto's face. The red head leaned in close, his lips caressing Sai's. "Thank you..." he whispered.

"Your welcome." Sai closed the gap and kissed his long time crush.

Naruto responded, slow and shy at first but soon shifted into passion. A burst of lust over took the teens, their moves becoming more erratic and wild. Their tongues entangled and skin caressed skin. Naruto turned them over; he positioned himself above Sai, between his newly found desire's legs. The two teens parted from their heated kiss, staring at each other in the eyes as they let the new sensations wash over them.

Sai ended the staring session with a kiss to Naruto's forehead, pulling him down to rest. Naruto smiled softly, closing his eyes. The redhead laid half way on top of his raven-haired lover, falling asleep to Sai softly caressing his scalp.

* * *

Eriiz watched his team from afar as they prepared themselves for the Chuunin exams. Rikami was practicing her sword katas in slow precise movements. Sai was preparing his ink and had attached several blank scrolls to his person and Naruto had two clones practicing Ninjutsu while he prepared his weapons pouch.

While Eriiz refused to admit it out loud, he was proud of the team he was assigned. All were exceptional shinobi who knew when to shut up and pay attention. "_Or at least how to fake it_," he commented mentally, knowing that during lectures a certain someone named Naruto was prone to zone out. Yet after the few years that he had spent with 'those damned brats', he honestly admitted to himself that they were like family to him.

Eriiz's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a familiar chakra appear beside him. He didn't move from his slouched position albeit for a slight tensing of his shoulders. Without looking, the Jounin spoke, "Hachirou." The temporary Kage sat on the branch next to Eriiz, "I came to see how they're doing."

"Ah," Eriiz replied, scratching his head. "They're ready," he said finally, the pride in his words was barely hidden. "Those brats have a confident air around them."

Hachirou smiled fondly, "They should. After all, you're the one who trained them."

Eriiz flushed at the statement, "_Dammit, the man always struck up these emotional feelings inside of him."_ "Yeah, I am pretty much the best," Eriiz stated smugly.

Hachirou's lips twitched at Eriiz's 'humble' statement. He glanced down at his wrist, looking at his watch, "It's almost time. I have to go and meet Tsunade-sama." Both men stood. "I suppose that I'll see you there," Hachirou smiled. He placed his Kage hat on his head and nodded to Eriiz. The Jounin returned the gesture and started towards his team. The trio looked in their sensei's direction when they sensed his chakra.

Three kunai whizzed through the air; in unison they were caught, Naruto rolling his eyes as he did so. "You damned brats better be ready," Eriiz stated in his usual tone. "Get your asses in gear so we can get a move on. The sooner you get there, the sooner you can get this shitty exam out of the way." Sai and Naruto nodded, Rikami gave a slight tilt of her head. Eriiz smirked before adding; "Just because they're Genin you shouldn't go easy on them."

Naruto half smiled, amused at the add on, "Unlike you to be worried for us."

Eriiz frowned. "Shut the fuck up," he ordered, ruffling the teen's hair.

Naruto growled in frustration, pushing the Jounin away from him, "Don't do that!"

Sai chuckled and Rikami showed a faint smile, inwardly laughing at their teammate's expense.

Eriiz straightened, "Time to get serious."

They started to follow their sensei to the building of the first exam. Eriiz left them at the door, watching them as they opened the doors to enter.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Don't fuck this up! If you do, I got a sharpened kunai with your name on it," he threatened them fondly.

Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, old man."

Eriiz spluttered and was about to yell back when the doors closed behind his team. The Jounin stared at the building for a minute before he turned away in silence.

* * *

Phew! Finally it's finished, took us long enough right? First off we would like to thank all of you who left comments, they really make our day when we get support in that form! Just in case you might be wondering, Reign and Ibiki will not have any romantic feelings for each other. That would just be weird; at most they will be close friends.

Again I would like to say thanks to those who commented, and if there are any questions, critiques, and/or praise for the story, they are more than welcome!

-Alia


	9. Rikami's Interlude and the First Exam

**Disclaimer**: See all previous disclaimers because it is still not ours.

* * *

**Rikami's Interlude**

Rikami went down stairs; her teammates and sensei were still asleep. She nodded to Hachirou-sama who was reading a book. "Ohayo, Rikami-chan," he greeted warmly, marking his page as he looked up. "Where are you off to?" he asked curiously. She tilted her head, eyeing him. "Scouting." she stated monotonously, she turned and walked through the door. He stood up, walking with her towards the door.

"Have a good time! Try not to get in trouble and remember to have a healthy breakfast and lunch! Do you want me to—" Rikami closed the door and sighed. "He's way too motherly," she thought to herself. She scanned the street before deciding to take a right.

She stepped down the pathway, heading towards the main shopping area of Konoha. A few moments later she had arrived. She stood amidst the crowd, eyes searching and purposefully strode toward a shop window. A head popped out of the doorway, a familiar face following her movements. Kiba glanced down at Akamaru who barked his encouragement to his master

Rikami's eyes were locked on the display in the window. She felt her heart start to race. Her hands twitched near the pouch of kunai and shuriken on her thigh. "_I—I can't believe this_," she shouted mentally, eyes wide and her shocked expression hidden behind her mask. Newborn puppies were on display to be bought. "_So cute!_" Rikami's eyes crinkled slightly at the adorable display.

Kiba smiled at her reaction, he scratched Akamaru on the head before moving towards her. "_Sweet,"_ he thought, "_I've totally got this."_ He stood next to her. "The litter was born just the other day," he said nonchalantly. "Cute aren't they?" He glanced over at her, his eyes locked on her face.

Rikami found herself nodding before she caught herself, turning in surprise. The tips of her ears turned red in embarrassment. "_What's he doing here? Wait, he's that boy from yesterday."_ She took a small step back from the window and Kiba. "Wait! Um… my family is good friends with the people that own this shop. Do you wanna come and pet the pups?" Kiba gave a fanged smile.

Rikami's eyes brightened at the prospect of playing with the puppies. She looked back and forth between Kiba and the shop window. "_Cute puppies— can't resist urge to cuddle them! But I __**really**__ need to scout!"_

Rikami was torn between the two choices. Her brow furrowed as she weighed the two options. "_I'm sure sensei has already scouted the area, but…"_

Kiba as if sensing her hesitation said, "And after I could show you around Konoha?" Rikami grinned inwardly, "_Perfect… a personal tour guide would offer much more information than if I scouted by myself."_ She nodded her head solemnly, trying to not show her excitement and followed Kiba into the store. Her thoughts continued, "_Besides, cute puppies need cuddling now!"_

_

* * *

_**Chapter 8 Chuunin Exams Part 1**

Neji stepped out from the shadows, standing to the left of Shikamaru. The two glanced at each other, greeting the other with a small nod. Shikamaru let out a yawn, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest.

"They have done nothing of interest," Neji stated monotonously. "The three Genin went out for dinner at Ichiraku's. Kiba seems to have taken an interest in the girl," he stated in a bemused tone. "Then they went back and fell asleep. Yesterday the girl went… shopping and Kiba 'accidentally' ran into her when she arrived at the market. The others stayed in the building and this morning the Genin team did light training for two hours." He finished his rather dry report and turned to look directly at the other. "Why is it that you have me watching them?"

Shikamaru slowly looked up, "No reason in particular," he said nonchalantly. His brown eyes lazily moved to look up at the sky, "Have you used your Byakugan on them yet?" Neji shook his head. "Do you think it necessary?" the Hyuuga questioned. Shikamaru seemed to think over the question for a moment. "It might be," he yawned again.

His eyes sharpened, "Koudo," he said slowly; "I want you to keep a close eye on him." "_He seems too familiar with Konoha and he reminds me of… Naruto,"_ the genius thought to himself. Neji nodded, taking note of the name and putting it to a face, "The redhead? I shall do so. Anything else you'd like to add?" he drawled.

Shikamaru shook his head and Neji melted away into the shadows without another word, leaving the Nara alone to his thoughts. The exam would be starting soon and he needed to keep a close eye on the Onigakure team. "Tch. How troublesome," he complained out loud.

* * *

Naruto lead the forward, he paused before the second doorway. He glanced over at Sai and Rikami, "If this exam is anything like the previous one then there will be a Genjutsu on the entrance way."

"They would use the same methods twice?" Rikami questioned. She shook her head, "That would be most unhonorable of them for that would allow previous Genin to have an advantage."

Sai rolled his eyes, "A ninja uses everything to his advantage." Naruto quickly whirled around, snickering, "_Ninja Code of Honor, _page two paragraph one," he quoted mockingly in a high-pitched voice accompanied by a fluttering of his eyelashes.

Rikami shot him a dark look that promised retaliation. Naruto turned back around, shuddering slightly. "_I should've kept my mouth shut. I don't want her to,"_ he shuddered again, "_retaliate."_

Sai leaned over, away from Rikami who unbeknownst to all others was already planning her 'retaliation'. "You are so screwed," he said quietly. A pleading look appeared on Naruto's face, a request for help ready to be spilled. He was about to speak, but Sai simply stated, "No." "What! Why not?" Naruto asked.

Rikami pulled open the door, sending a glare over her shoulder at her two teammates that said 'Hurry up!' The boys exchanged a glance and caught up, not wanting to anger her more.

Naruto, Sai, and Rikami stared at the groups of Genin that were huddled together by a door. After a moment Naruto leaned over to Sai, motioning at the groups, "Why are they hanging out by that door? Do you think they know that's just the door to the bathroom?"

Sai frowned, not seeing what Naruto was talking about; this was the waiting room for the Exams. He reran their previous conversation through his mind. "_Genjutsu,"_ he concluded. He tilted his head, forming the tiger seal and said "Kai." The Genjutsu melted away from Sai and Rikami's view. "Hm, let's continue to the exam room."

The three left the bunch of clueless Genin behind. A couple of doors down they found the **real** entrance to the exam. Naruto pushed it open and held the door for his teammates. As they entered Naruto glanced around the waiting room, finding many teams from foreign villages including Iwa, Kumo, Sand, and Grass. He faltered, seeing a symbol that he didn't recognize. He discreetly elbowed Sai, motioning to the group in the far corner. "What Village are they from?" he asked quietly.

Sai glanced over, "I believe that is the symbol for Takigakure." Naruto repeated the name, committing it to memory. "Why haven't I heard about them before?" he asked. "They're not a very big village," Sai stated, "Nothing like Onigakure or Konoha." "Takigakure, huh," Naruto stated still staring at the Genin team.

The girl, who had white hair and dark skin, glanced over, flashing him a smile. Their eyes met and both stilled, sensing something familiar about the other. "—do. Koudo," Sai whispered, shaking his teammates shoulder. Naruto shook his head. "What? Sorry." Sai hid his concern, "Nothing. It's nothing." "_It's just for a moment you stopped breathing,"_ he thought.

She looked over her shoulder at her teammates and found them lagging behind. "_Patience is a quality that all Ninja should possess, Ninja Code of Honor, page four," _she recited to herself.

She stood there irately, waiting for them to catch up when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Rikami started, whirling around to face an unfamiliar leaf Nin. "Hello," she greeted politely, wanting to be nice to their potential allies. The boy held out a bag of chips and she looked at them in confusion.

"You look like you could use some comfort food," he said kindly. She eyed the offered food warily. "_It could be poisoned," _she mused. Her stomach growled, "_But I am hungry and—"_ she glanced at the crumbs on his shirt. "_— he's eaten some. It can't be poisoned,"_ she concluded. She put her hand into the bag of chips, taking one out and placing it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, "Hm, Barbeque flavored," she stated, "Thank you."

Sai put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let's catch up with Rikami before she takes the test without us." Naruto nodded his agreement and both boys turned to find Rikami conversing with_— "_Choji?" Naruto said quietly. He glanced around hoping that no one had heard him. Luckily, no one had seemed to.

A man who could be no older than 20 stepped out of the room with an extremely bored expression on his face; he withdrew a small piece of paper from his pocket and began reading it out loud. "Yosh! You Youthful examinees can now enter the room where we will now begin to test the power of your Youthful mind."

He shook his head. "_Why are all of our Jounin so… eccentric?"_ he wondered to himself. He glanced around at the Genin. "Well?" He nodded to the room, "Get in there already."

They stepped into the room, all three readying themselves for what lay beyond. However, they could never have prepared themselves for the spectacle that was now before them.

"Ha-Ha!" A man wearing green spandex shouted with a wide grin on his face and a 'sunset' behind him. "You've made it through the Genjutsu!" He gave them a thumbs up. 'Koudo' stared, his eyes wide, "_Fuzzy-brow's sensei?"_

Gai stood proudly in front of the crowd of Genin, hands on his hips. "It is now time for the written exam. My Youthful assistant shall pass out these tests! LEE!" A smaller version of Gai shot into the room, saluting, "GAI-SENSEI!"

The Genin winced at the loudness of the shout. Naruto's jaw nearly dropped. Lee looked exactly the same. A small smile lit his face; at least some things never changed. Rikami stared at the spandex clad duo, tilting her head to the side. "_They must be Tajutsu specialists and I suppose that the color is reasonable for the environment."_ She nodded her approval of their apparel.

Gai turned back to the prospective Chuunin. "All right, you harbingers of Youth! It's time to start the written exam!" He looked over at his successor. "Lee! Pass out the papers!" Lee snapped to attention, straightening his back, "Hai, Gai-sensei!"

The young Chuunin ran out of the room and barley a second later reappeared with a stack of papers tucked under his arm. He immediately began to pass out the papers as quickly as he could. "_He's fast,"_ many of the Genin thought to themselves.

"Thank you, my cute student!" Gai exclaimed, ruffling Lee's hair. He cleared his throat, "Great! When I say start use your Youthful spirits to complete the test!" Gai paused. "START!" he shouted with his Nice-Guy pose, startling quite a few of the foreign Genin.

All of the Genin picked up their pencils. Rikami read through the test. She furrowed her brow at the simplicity of the work. She looked around subtly, inwardly scoffing at the ninja that needed to cheat, "_How unhonorable." _Rikami sighed softly and started the test. She completed it within a few minutes when she felt her tattoo pulse.

A frown appeared on her face and her eyes landed on Sai who had been seated two rows in front of her. Her eyes narrowed, "_He's being lazy,"_ she thought, "_But he __**is**__ my teammate."_ She rolled her eyes and laid her hand on top of her test.

"_But I am mad at him," _her thoughts continued. She deliberately took her hand off of the paper. Naruto, who was sitting behind her to the right, felt his eyes widen; he needed the answers as well and if she didn't give them to Sai then she definitely wouldn't give them to him. "Ninja Code of Honor!" he whispered loudly. He glanced over at the proctors that were writing on their clipboards and staring at the prospective Chuunin.

Rikami's ears perked up at that and she scowled. "_The Ninja Code of Honor states that one should help their teammates… and I am honorable."_ Somewhat reluctantly she put her hand back down on her complete paper.

The words slowly copied themselves onto the palm of her hand, creeping up the underside of her forearm, and wrapped around her bicep, touching the tattoo. Luckily the long-sleeve fishnet shirt that she wore underneath her solid black tank top caused it to be almost unnoticeable. The words faded into the tattoo and it glowed for a moment as the information was transmitted to her teammates.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh. "_I never thought that I'd ever think this, but thank Kami for the Ninja Code of Honor,"_ he thought to himself, flipping his now complete paper over with a flourish. He leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head and glanced around the room.

He nearly toppled out of his chair when he found that girl from Takigakure staring directly at him. He looked over his shoulder to make sure that he was in fact the one she was looking at; he didn't want to assume he was because, well, you know what happens when you assume things. It turned out that he was her current subject of interest.

Fu hummed with curiosity; the voice in the back of her head was buzzing with excitement when the red-haired boy turned her way. Her red-orange eyes flashed. "_It's him, or it feels like him. Right, right?"_ She directed her thoughts inwards at the beast that was caged inside her body. "We want to talk to him," she decided with a nod of her head.

The Genin beside her shot the crazy girl a look. "_Did she just refer to herself in the third person?" _he wondered before shaking his head and returning to his test.

"Yosh!" Gai shouted abruptly, startling everyone, including the other proctors. They all looked over at the man. "Time is up. Put your pencils down and wait for the last question! My Youthful assistant shall pick up your papers."

He waited until Lee had collected every paper before continuing. His eyes scanned the room, suddenly becoming serious. His voice lowered a fraction. "This last question shall determine whether or not you pass this first exam," he stated evenly.

The Genin looked at each other with cautious glances. Naruto and Sai both turned towards Rikami. She was sitting straight up, her eyes focused on Gai.

Gai smirked before starting. "Would you abandon your mission for the sake of your teammates?" he asked. He let the question sink in for a moment then continued. "If you would; raise your hand." Naruto slowly put his hand in the air, Sai and a few others followed after. Half of the Genin in the room had not raised their hand, unsure.

Rikami sat, confused. "_I must follow the Ninja Code of Honor, but…"_ She looked over at Sai and then back at Naruto. "_But I would never abandon them."_ She closed her eyes in contemplation. After a moment she raised her hand, a glint in her eyes. Naruto grinned and Sai smiled slightly.

Gai gazed around the room. "Alright! Those of you who raised your hand leave the room!" Some previous exam takers smirked they, like few of the others, left the room.

* * *

Sorry that this chapter took so long! We were preoccupied with Tennis playing/practicing and I was busy with my newly born sister! Tennis and babies. Hope that you enjoy the chapter. Thanks to those who commented, and if there are any questions, critiques, and/or praise for the story, they are more than welcome! Molto grazie!

-Jerri


	10. Chuunin Exam Part II

**Disclaimer**: See all previous disclaimers because it is still not ours.

* * *

**Chapter 9 Chuunin Exams Part II**

Neji stood atop the building opposite of where the exam was taking place, his arms crossed over his chest. His Byakugan activated and his pale lavender eyes locked on the trio from Onigakure as they, along with several other teams including one from Kumo, Kusa, Iwa, and Takigakure, two from Sand, as well as most of the teams from Konoha, left the first exam room.

After a moment he deactivated his bloodline limit. "_It could be— I should take a closer look," _he thought. "_But for a moment during that exam a foreign chakra pulsed from the three of them."_

He leaped off of the rooftop, landing on the paved pathway that had been swept by a team of newly graduated Genin that morning without a sound. He swiftly made his way towards the location of the second exam so that he could continue his observations.

* * *

Gai waited for a few moments after the door closed in silence before he turned to face the Genin. "You've all failed," he stated somberly.

"What!" a particularly loud Genin exclaimed.

"Why?" another demanded.

"Quiet!" Gai shouted in a very un-Gai like manner. They instantly stopped all chatter, some opting instead for angered silence as the proctor explained. "My eternal rival is known to say this and it is a sentiment that I agree with. 'Those that abandon the mission are trash, those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash'." He let those words sink into their minds.

"If you cannot trust in your team then who can you trust? Teamwork is valuable; it could very well determine the outcome of your missions."

* * *

Naruto lead the way down the hall, his teammates by his sides. He glanced back over his shoulder at the first exam room that was filled with failures. He shook his head, "_They should've at least about the village before taking the exam_," he thought.

He paused, shaking his head once more, "_That was such a Rikami type thought." _He snorted.

Naruto looked up as the girl from Takigakure that had been staring at him earlier stopped right in front of him, her red-orange eyes staring intently into his. He didn't move but instead asked, "Can I help you?"

She tilted her head, eyes trailing over every detail of his face. "We don't like the way you look right now. We liked it better when you were taller," she complained. "Why are you so small? We want to know; when we felt you, you were much bigger." Her eyes sharpened, "Unless you are tricking us. Maybe you aren't who we think you are," she mused thoughtfully, tapping her chin with a slender finger.

Behind Naruto, Sai and Rikami exchanged a look. Naruto shook his head, "Sorry? I don't know what you're talking about." He moved to walk past her when she quickly grabbed him by the shoulder, her grip forcing him to stay there.

Sai quickly took a kunai out, holding it to the back of her neck. "Let go of him," he stated smoothly, eyes narrowed.

She turned her head, looking back at the dark haired boy, "We think that you should worry more about yourself and not about us."

"_What?"_ Sai thought until he felt the cold metal on the side of his face. He glanced over to find a boy with his arm extended, senbon held between his knuckles. The boy smiled at him, his eyes closed as the point of a single senbon dug into Sai's skin. A small drop of blood welled up on his skin, a bright crimson against pale white, dripping down the side of his face.

Naruto twitched angrily, growling at the unknown boy.

Fu turned back to her current interest and her face inched closer and closer to his until they were barely a breath apart. "We'll be keeping our eyes on you, fox child, who feels like him but isn't." Naruto stiffened at that comment.

Rikami decided to end this before it went too far. She grabbed the unknown Nin's arm in a tight grip that threatened to break his wrist. He grunted in pain and she sent him a disarming smile that was hidden by her mask. He snatched his arm back, the senbon disappearing.

"Sai, lower your kunai. Koudo, '_A ninja must be in full control of their emotions and should show no weaknesses,'"_ she quoted. "Ninja Code of—"

"Honor, page eight," Naruto finished.

Rikami stepped forward, her scowl hidden. "I suggest we stop this before we are removed the exam."

The unknown boy glanced at Rikami then at his female teammate, "Fu..." The girl turned to the boy and stared for a few moments. Eventually, she let go of Naruto.

"We will meet again." With that said, she walked off, her teammates staring in her wake.

Naruto calmed slightly and sent the team from Takigakure one last look before moving on. Sai went to move after him, pausing when Rikami didn't immediately follow.

She motioned for him to continue ahead, "I will follow in a minute."

He nodded and proceeded to follow Naruto who had already started to walk off. Rikami waited until they turned the corner before looking at the ninja form Taki. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and she took a step towards them.

* * *

Naruto fumed silently as he strolled down the hallway. Sai quickly caught up. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

"Me? What about you?" Naruto turned to Sai his soft blue eyes flowing with mixed emotion.

Sai's voice faltered a bit "I-I'm fine."

The half-demon frowned a bit, eyes now filled with concern. He lifted his hand to Sai's injured cheek and wiped the blood off with his thumb. Sai was surprised at first but then relaxed into the affectionate gesture.

Naruto smiled softly and removed his hand, caressing Sai's skin on the way down. The half-demon sighed inwardly, _"I never want him to get hurt because of me. But I know that I can't stop that from happening eventually..."_

A throat was cleared, both turned to see Rikami. "We should catch up before they begin the second exam without us," she stated, her eyes averted. They hurried after the group and Naruto glanced around as they headed outside.

"_Where are we going?"_ His thoughts were soon answered as they came to a stop just outside the gates and fences that surrounded the Forest of Death.

Lee beamed at them, hands on his hips as he struck pose #4 titled 'Victory of Youth in the Springtime'. "If you Youthful Genin have not yet figured it out… you have passed." One of the Konoha teams broke into cheers.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "_Must be a Rookie team,"_ he thought unaware of the small smile forming on his lips. Lee opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a smoke bomb and a loud thud. As the smoke cleared, the Genin were greeted with the image of Leaf Kunoichi, Anko, sitting atop Lee's body. Some

Genin chuckled while others stared, not at all amused.

Anko spat out her dango stick and stood, her hands on her hips and a smirk curving her lips. "Alright, you maggots! Wipe those stupid grins off your faces and listen up! You might think you're lucky to get this far, but personally, I don't. Let's just say that a few of you won't be leaving this forest the same way you came in."

A couple Genin looked back and forth between each other, trying to figure out what she meant. Naruto yawned in boredom, looking off into space because he'd already heard the speech before.

Anko targeted him out of the crowd; she narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "_Brat needs to learn a lesson,"_ she thought. She pulled out kunai and threw it at him. Naruto dodged the weapon aimed at his face and caught it. The Genin stared in awe at the scene. Anko growled lowly and shushined over to his position. When she reappeared 'Koudo' was nowhere to be found. Anko stiffened as she felt cold metal press against the back of her neck.

"You know, it's not nice to throw sharp objects at people," 'Koudo' gave a deathly smile.

Anko's eye twitched. "Well it's not nice to disrespect your elders," she retorted. "_Damn brat." _ She felt the kunai leave the back of her neck.

"Touché."

Anko turned around to see the smirking red head. 'Koudo' turned the kunai in his hand and offered it back to her. Anko sneered and pulled the kunai from his hand, drawing a bit of blood. She frowned when 'Koudo' didn't flinch. She was hoping to put the kid in some kind of pain. She looked down and furrowed her brow when she saw the cut heal before her eyes, _"...wait—"_

"Anko-san, I believe we should get going on the exam." Lee said as he brushed dirt off of his front. The Special Jounin glared at 'Koudo', bringing the kunai to her lips and licking the blood that dripped down the metal before returning to her previous spot.

Anko nodded to a Chuunin then began to speak. "Papers are being passed out right now! In order to continue, you need to sing these contracts! On them states that we are not responsible for any...mishaps that may occur whilst in the forest of death. So if you get killed or injured…" she trailed off with a dangerous smile

Anko held a sickening gleam in her eye as she watched many Genin hesitantly sight the forms. "When you're done you will go into the tent to my right and turn in the form."

Each team looked at one another, this would be easy. Her lips curved into a smug smirk, watching them. "There's a twist to this exam. You won't be completing this task with your teammates; we'll be assigning you to three-man squads at random."

"_Shit,"_ the thought echoed. Naruto, Sai, and Rikami exchanged a look. Individually they were all good Shinobi, but together they were extraordinary. This would be difficult.

"One more thing," Anko called over her shoulder, "You'll get a number from one of the Chuunin. That number will be the gate you are assigned to."

"This sucks," a leaf nin moaned.

"The people you meet at the gate will be your new teammates," Anko continued, ignoring that comment. "On this exam you will be required to escort a civilian to the tower in the center of the forest."

The Genin looked at each other wondering whom they would be partnered with.

"Well, that's different." Sai said to break the small silence between the trio, "And slightly worrying."

"Knowing Konoha, this is probably a ploy to strengthen relations between the villages," Rikami added, her eyes scanning the crowd for potential teammates.

Naruto nodded and turned his attention to the tent. "I suppose we should turn these in now." Sai and Rikami nodded and followed behind Naruto as he made his way to the tent. The trio turned in their forms and each received their gate number. One by one they left the tent and faced each other.

"Two," Sai started, looking at his two teammates.

"Seven," Naruto sighed in annoyance. Both boys turned to look at Rikami.

"Five," Rikami frowned; this didn't bode well for her.

"Damn it, Why aren't we ever lucky?" Sai gave out an amused breath watching Naruto.

After the last Genin team received their gate numbers, Anko turned back to the crowd, "Alright you maggots move to your gates now! The exam will start in a few minutes!"

Rikami's frown deepened at that announcement. Sai and Naruto noticed Rikami's frown.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked feeling concerned for his female teammate.

Rikami shook her head, "It's nothing." She moved to walk towards her assigned gate, bidding farewell to her team. "_This exam will not be so easy,"_ she thought to herself. "_If my skills do not mesh well with these people then it will be most difficult to pass this exam in a timely fashion."_ She inwardly sighed, "_I shall just have to do my best."_

Naruto put a hand on Sai's shoulder, eyes searching, "Be careful out there." His hand squeezed the shoulder lightly before he too turned to find his gate.

Sai watched as his two teammates left, thinking. He waited until they were out of sight before going to gate number two to meet his temporary team for this exam. He was the last to arrive and found them, a boy and a girl, standing in silence.

Sai's eyes glanced them over, observing them. He located their hitai-ate; sand and leaf respectfully. He nodded his head in greeting.

"H-hello," the Leaf Kunoichi greeted with a shy wave of her hand.

The Sand Nin shifted. "Hey," he muttered. "Names and skills?" he suggested.

"Hinata Hyuuga. I-I am skilled with my family's blood line limit, the Byakugan," she said quietly, Sai having to strain his ears to hear her.

The Sand Nin ran a hand through his light brown hair, "Khan. Wind Elemental and I am good with chakra strings and trap making."

Sai nodded before offering his own information, holding back a little. "Sai. My family jutsu and medical jutsu are my specialties."

'Koudo' was doing the same with the one teammate he saw; the other was missing. He mentally grimaced at the fact that one of the 'Rookie Nine' was on his team. "What's your name?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

Choji smiled, the swirls on his cheeks widening, "Choji. I use my family jutsu in battle."

"I'm Koudo," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm pretty much an all rounder, but I prefer attacking head on. I mostly use jutsus that use a lot of chakra." The boys looked around, waiting for their other teammate.

"Hello again, fox child," was whispered in Naruto's ear. He whirled around to face Fu. She shot him a dangerous smile, showing all of her teeth. "We said that we would keep an eye on you."

Choji looked back and forth between them. "You know each other?" he questioned.

"Something like that," 'Koudo' murmured, averting his gaze.

She turned her gaze to the Akimichi, still smiling and her eyes blank, "Fu. We work with insects."

"Like Shino?" Choji wondered out loud, purposefully ignoring the way that she talked in third person. "That's useful," he stated with a warm smile, "There are a lot of bugs and animals in the Forrest of Death."

She tilted her head, her eyes gaining a glint that wasn't there before. "Excellent."

Rikami stood at gate five, silently waiting for the rest of her "team" to show up. She shifted her weight, her version of a nervous habit, and froze. She was showing a weakness. Immediately she stilled, reminding herself that "_A Shinobi must show no weaknesses!"_

Kiba grumbled to himself, kicking at the ground. Akamaru barked loudly at his sulking friend, when he caught a scent. A mischievous thought came to the pup's mind. He sprinted ahead, tongue lagging out of his mouth and barked once more. Kiba growled, running after him, "I am not!"

Rikami looked over seeing Akamaru. He stopped by her feet, wagging his tail and looking completely adorable that Rikami couldn't resist. Her defenses lowered and she scratched behind his ears, eliciting a purr from the dog. He was in heaven!

"Aka—" Kiba abruptly stopped, staring over at his assigned gate.

Rikami lifted her head, "Kiba?"

"Are you the rest of my team?" a girl squealed, running over to the two of them with a wide smile on her face.

"_Oh, great,_" Rikami thought.

Anko swaggered around, assigning 'civilians' to each team. "_Too bad we can't use real civilians. It'd make things much more interesting."_ All of the Chuunin made their way to the gates that they had been assigned. They all had different expressions on their faces, mostly boredom. They were all ordered to not interfere with the teams or provide any help at all and act just like civilians.

She let out a high-pitched whistle, signaling the start of the exam. "Get moving, you only got three days to make it to the tower!" The gates creaked as they were pulled open and all of the teams raced inside, dragging their civilians behind them.

* * *

Hachirou sat in the lounge room of the tower, staring out of the left side window at the Forest of Death. He let out a soft sigh, shoulders slumping as though there was a large weight resting upon them.

"You keep that look on your face any longer and it'll stay there," Eriiz commented as he strode into the room, hands in his pockets. Hachirou turned slightly and gave the Jounin a slight smile. He turned back to the window and Eriiz frowned, sitting down next to him.

He scooted closer to Hachirou and let his leg press against the Kage's, feeling the warmth radiating from the other man. He draped his arms on the couch's back, sprawling out lazily. Hachirou sighed and leaned in to the Jounin, eyes still fixed on the window. Eriiz smiled softly and allowed the Kage to lay against him.

They remained in that position, growing closer until Hachirou was positioned on Eriiz's lap, with his head in the crook of the Jounin's neck. Eriiz had his left arm around the Kage's waist, keeping him close while his right hand gently played with Hachirou's hair. the medic Kage lifted his head and smiled at the other man. Eriiz noticed the smile and winked at the younger man. Hachirou chuckled softly and leaned in to Eriiz's hand he caressed his cheek. The Kage placed a hand at the back of the Jounin's neck.

"Eriiz, someone's coming," Hachirou breathed.

"I don't care if it's the fucking Hokage, I've been waiting years for this," Eriiz nipped at Hachirou's neck, "And I ain't going to stop now."

Their lips were just about to meet when the door opened, slamming against the wall as an irate Tsunade entered the room. Hachirou blinked in surprise and Eriiz jumped away. The Onikage turned around, a light blush covering his cheeks.

Tsunade's expression of anger melted and looked at the two men with a smile. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," the Hokage stated, stepping over. Kakashi twitched, a glint of jealously in his eyes.

Hachirou coughed lightly before speaking, "Not at all Tsunade-sama. With your arrival I assume that the second exam has begun?"

"_Well played young Kage,"_ she thought. "Yes, it has been underway for about an hour now I believe." She took a seat in the chair across from the two men and watched silently as Eriiz leaned against the wall right behind Hachirou. "The third proctor and the rest of the Chuunin are preparing the preliminary fights that'll happen when the second exam is finished."

"Hm," Hachirou's eyes flickered back to the window, "How long do you suppose it will be before the first team arrives?"

Tsunade looked thoughtful, taking out a bottle of sake, "In all honesty, I don't know. the second exam is new this year, so we can only wait to see what happens and hope nothing goes wrong." She took a sip, happy that Shizune wasn't there to scold her.

Hachirou frowned and tensed slightly in worry. He turned his head to gaze at Eriiz. The Jounin smirked to reassure the Kage, "They'll be fine." Hachirou nodded hesitantly then looked back to see Tsunade's questioning gaze.

"Your Genin team?" she questioned softly.

Hachirou nodded, "I trained them alongside Eriiz... one of them is like a little brother to me. I can't help but worry."

Tsunade smiled softly, remembering. "_He's a good kid_." She glanced out the window for a moment before agreeing, "I understand the feeling."

The conversation paused as both Kage's became lost in thought. Tsunade leaned back in her chair. _"The treaty they offered... it seems like a legitimate offer of cooperation. Also the young Kage's actions don't hint at any kind of deception."_ She looked over at Hachirou, "_And the poor thing wears his heart on his sleeve... the same can't be said for his companion though._" She took another gulp of her sake, swirling it around in the bottle as she observed the two foreigners.

Tsunade's eyes moved from the Onikage to Eriiz. The Jounin was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and eyes closed. He felt the Hokage's eyes on him, and opened his own to meet hers. Their eyes locked and after a moment, he bowed his head slightly in respect and returned to previous position.

Tsunade inwardly smirked, suppressing a sharp laugh that wished to escape her lips, _"Ha! that brat just sized me up! This could be interesting." _She let out a snort of laughter, before sobering. "_They're very confident in their abilities; we need that on our side. I guess I just made my decision."_

The Hokage cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the other occupants in the room, "Hachirou-kun."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" The young medic asked.

"In regards to the treaty, I believe that our villages will work very well together," she stated.

Hachirou grinned brightly, "I look forward to the cooperation between Konohagakure and Onigakure."

Tsunade nodded in agreement, "Kakashi," she said curtly, her eyes not leaving the young Kage's smiling face. "Fetch Tiger for me, and tell him that I require the treaty."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kakashi gave her a slight bow, glancing at Hachirou before shushining away.

Hachirou straightened, "Eriiz."

The Jounin noticed the tone in Hachirou's voice. _"Guess that I'll go get that bastard Reign."_ Eriiz saluted, "Hai." He opened the window to his right and left without another word, leaving the two Kage's to sit in a comfortable yet anxious silence.

* * *

...um...Hey...sorry, yea so i know it's been a while so i just want to awkwardly apologize for that now. Life happens you know? Uh, lets just say that I moved hundreds of miles away from Jerri and the only contact i really have with her is e-mail so stuff its just slow and whatnot. That and we tried a whole "hey why dont we have a minimum of 5,000 words per chapter?" "That sounds totally awesome yo!" *Fail*

so yea, Love you guys, your all spectacular im glad you all like it enough to even story alert this thing so thanks sooooooo much! Review are very much appreciated ;).

~Alia


	11. Chuunin Exam Part III, Forest of Death

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Chuunin Exams Part III, the Forest of Death**

"We should go this way," Hinata suggested timidly, pointing to her left, her Byakugan activated. Sai and Khan nodded their agreement, flanking their 'civilian' who looked to be quite bored. She yawned, stretching out her arms. Tenten didn't remember her Chuunin exam being this boring. She heard a noise to her right, leaves rustling, but said nothing as she wasn't allowed to help and was in fact supposed to do the exact opposite. She ignored the impulse to reach for her weapons and allow the Genin to lead the way.

Khan and Sai caught each other's eyes and the Sand Nin gave a slight inclination of his head. His hand twitched as they continued walking. Another group, who was most likely going to try and sabotage them, had been following them for over half an hour. Little did the other team know that they were falling right into their trap.

Three shuriken and a single kunai shot out of the trees at the 'unsuspecting' team and civilian. The shuriken seemed to swerve out of their intended path and headed straight towards Tenten. She closed her eyes, hoping that this team of Genin would protect her. At that moment Khan clawed his hand through the air and Tenten flew back behind him. A slight smirk appeared on his face, that hidden chakra string had come in handy, and now everything was falling into place. His brown eyes scanned the forest line carefully. Sai caught the thrown kunai, expertly twirling it around his finger. Hinata moved into position by their civilian.

"Right tree, four branches up," she murmured quietly to her temporary teammates. Sai and Khan nodded. A senbon whisked through the air at the back of Hinata's neck, hidden from her view in that one degree of blindness that all Hyuuga with the Byakugan have. It was just about to pierce her skin and lodge itself into the top of her spinal cord, effectively killing her when Sai quickly threw the kunai and intercepted the fatal blow, splitting the senbon in half.

Hinata pivoted on her back foot, strands of dark hair flying around her face as five more senbon shot at her. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "_Time to use my technique."_ "Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshu*," she whispered, creating a protective sphere around her and Tenten, deflecting the five senbon. "_All that work has paid off,"_ she thought.

"Argh!" A frustrated voice screamed. A single shinobi burst out of the trees, and rushed toward the Hyuuga without abandon.

"Y-you're in my realm of divination," Hinata announced quietly, "Sixty-four palms." Her hands shot out and quickly closed several of her opponent's tenketsu. Her fingers dug into the tense flesh, finding each point with perfect accuracy. The Nin was pushed back, collapsing in on himself. He landed on his ass and Hinata stopped her attack, the hitai-ate on his forehead gleamed. "_Kumogakure,"_ she instantly recognized the symbol. Her eyes hardened and she took a step forward, intent on knocking him out.

Just as she reached him, a Kusa kunoichi came out of hiding, throwing several kunai and shuriken. Hinata gasped as one lodged itself in her thigh. Khan quickly moved once more, chakra string still attached to Tenten's back. He positioned her behind himself and began forming hand signs, "Fuuton Reppushou*." He utilized one of his elemental attacks, and threw a shuriken, the gust of wind speeding it up.

The shuriken pierced the back of the kunoichi's knee. She fell forward with a cry of pain, blood gushing down her pale skin. She reached back, yanking it out, which was probably not the best solution as it just allowed the blood to run more freely. Khan was about to rush her and end it, but the kunoichi, however, was not going to give up without a fight. She reached for the pouch on her thigh and threw out another batch of shuriken mixed with kunai.

Sai turned to help out his team, but their final member finally made his appearance. "_Did they really leave their civilian unguarded?"_ he wondered incredulously. He looked over to see a familiar face. Sai's eyes narrowed. It was that shinobi from Taki that he, Naruto, and Rikami had run into earlier. The Nin gave him a disturbing smile as he punched at him, four senbon tucked between his fingers. Sai dodged, but one of the senbon grazed his arm, a red line appeared on his arm as the senbon had barely broken the skin. His enemy's grin seemed to widen as his arm became numb, turning into dead weight.

Sai glared his mind racing. "_The senbon must be coated with some kind of poison."_ He adjusted his stance, correcting his balance so not as to injure himself further. "_I'll just have to avoid getting hit,"_ he concluded. He decided that he didn't want to waste any chakra on defeating this opponent. The shinobi wasn't worth it. Plus, Sai wanted to return the favor, an arm for an arm. They circled one another and Sai patiently waited for the other to attack.

As if reading his mind, the boy headed straight towards him. Sai jumped to the left, avoiding a senbon. He extended his arm, grabbing the boy's right arm. He harshly pulled it back and felt the slightest bit of satisfaction when he heard the bone pop out of place. The pale skinned boy let go of his enemy rather abruptly and watched as he stumbled forward. Sai slowly lifted his leg and kicked the Taki Nin on the small of his back. His opponent flew forward, hitting his head on the ground, which effectively rendered him unconscious. Sai stared at the crumpled body for a moment, hoping that the boy would have a serious concussion. He turned back to face the rest of his team, hoping that their civilian wasn't injured as he was sure it wouldn't be beneficial to this portion of their exam.

"Shit," the Kumo Nin muttered as he backed away from the team, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fight at close range. He fumbled for his weapons holster, withdrawing a kunai with an exploding note attached. He tossed it over and dashed away, leaving his female teammate who tried to follow, but was unable to stand. The Kusa kunoichi quickly began to form hand seals, hoping that this technique would save her. "Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu*." She disappeared into the ground.

Khan's eyes widened as the edges of the paper seal began to burn. "Move!" he shouted. He and Hinata grabbed Tenten, pulling her away. As they each made their move the tag exploded, causing them to fall and skid across the ground. A cloud of dust and smoke particles filled the area.

"S-sai-san?" Hinata called out as the dust cleared. She slowly stood, wincing as she put weight on her left leg. The dust settled and Sai was revealed to be crouching on the side of a tree. Hinata let out a relieved sigh as he jumped down. Khan and Sai were still tense, scanning the area to ensure that they weren't going to be attacked again. A hiss of pain was heard behind them and they both looked to see Hinata pulling a kunai out of her thigh. She tossed the kunai aside, leaning against a nearby tree. Tenten stood near her, not all too worried as she recognized it as merely a flesh wound.

Sai quickly took out a roll of bandages from his pack. He stepped over, holding them out, "Will you need help bandaging the wound?" he asked.

Hinata shook her head and accepted the roll, "Thank you."

"We should get moving again," Khan stated, brown eyes darting back and forth. "There's no telling if anyone heard that explosion."

"I agree," Sai stated. He glanced over at Hinata who had finished bandaging her leg, "Are you ready?" She nodded and took point by Tenten's side. Khan began walking, leading the way. Sai waited and he unraveled a blank scroll, putting a brush that had been dipped in ink and quickly began drawing. A large falcon took shape and slowly began to peel off of the page, heading into the trees. He rolled the scroll back up and put it into his pack and went to catch up with them.

* * *

Rikami glared at the ground, immensely fed up with the civilian assigned to her team. Kotetsu was his name. He was not stepping quietly. He was complaining very loudly with every breath that he took. The man would not shut up. Of course, neither would her female teammate. Her hands twitched, itching to withdraw her sword. She fingered the scabbard thoughtfully.

She glanced over at Kiba, "_At least he understands the necessity of silence, though he's been acting oddly. It must be a man-thing."_ At that moment he looked over his shoulder, daring a glance at the Kunoichi. Their eyes met and he quickly averted his gaze. Akamaru was leading their little group forward. Hopefully they would make it through the day without being attacked, but Rikami doubted it.

"I'm tired. We've been walking forever!" Kotetsu whined, "Can't we take a break?"

"Keep walking," Kiba ordered.

Rikami paused, spotting a black falcon racing towards them. Her eyes narrowed as it came closer, revealing it to be only an outline, "_Sai." _She reached over her shoulder, pulling out a blank scroll that she had taken to carrying since the artist had joined her team. She flicked it open and held it out in front of her. The bird let out a loud screech and dived down towards the scroll, its wings at its sides. Her teammates whirled around, eyes widening.

Kiba growled, "What the h—"

It flew into the scroll, splattering itself across the page. Slowly the inkblots began to form words. Rikami's eyes scanned the message, a frown hidden beneath her mask.

_**NCH, 13, 4, Taki**_

"_Ninja Code of Honor, page 13, paragraph four! If you are attacked by the enemy and live, send message to your Village to warn them of the oncoming attack,"_ she mentally had an amused glint in her eyes, "_I can't believe he remembered that. Wait. There's more to the message." _She read the last part of the message.

_**I remembered.**_

She snorted before analyzing the information provided by Sai._"Taki… does he mean the team from Takigakure?" _She rolled up the scroll and stuck it back in her pack. "I'll have to keep an eye out," she murmured.

"What was that about?" the other girl asked nosily.

"Nothing important," Rikami simply stated, motioning for them to continue. The girl looked confused for a moment, but something else caught her attention as they walked forward. Kotetsu and Kiba eyed her for a moment longer until the 'civilian' got bored.

Kotetsu sighed dramatically, waving his arms, "Ugh! Why aren't we there? I'm SO bored! Can't you carry me?" He shot a pouty face at Kiba who shook his head no. He then turned his eyes back to Rikami, "What about you? I can make sure that you have a good time." He winked and leered suggestively, looking a lot like Jiraiya of the Sanin.

Rikami twitched, this was not the first time that this client or others for that matter had tried to "seduce" her. It was quite annoying. She paused mentally, "_Although… there was that one time in Iwagakure…. That was real fun."_ She blushed and was silently thankful that the mask she wore hid it. She composed herself and thought over Kotetsu's proposition before shrugging, "Okay."

Kotetsu's cheeks flushed red as he excitedly took a step closer. "_YES!"_

Kiba whirled around a panicked expression on his face. "WHAT?" He shouted somewhat shrilly. "No! I can carry him." The Inuzuka pushed Kotetsu towards Akamaru, "There, you can ride on Akamaru, he won't mind."

Akamaru growled angrily, sharp teeth clearly visible. He did mind, as a matter of fact he minded very much. He didn't want this whiny man anywhere near him. The dog sniffed and turned around; there was no way that he was going to carry that man all the way to the tower. No way at all. Not even if— Akamaru's eyes closed in pleasure as he smelled something heavenly. He smacked his lips and quickly snatched the treat out of Kiba's hand, chewing furiously.

Kiba smirked, that trick always worked. "Well, get on," he motioned to Akamaru whilst staring triumphantly over at Kotetsu.

Kotetsu tilted his head, a large grin appearing on his face. "No, thanks, I think I'll walk instead." He swaggered forward, slinging an arm around Rikami's shoulder and started whistling a tune. Kiba clenched his fingers. Kotetsu looked back over his shoulder at the Inuzuka and winked slowly, lowering his arm around Rikami's waist who didn't protest. Kiba growled, stalking after them.

* * *

Naruto was not happy at the moment. Choji was two feet to his right, chewing on his chips slowly to savor them as he didn't want to run out prematurely. Fu, on the other hand, was skipping behind them. Her red-orange eyes had been locked on Naruto's back for the past hour. To say that it was bothering him would be an understatement, a severe understatement. His back was straight and his body tense from the disturbing scrutinization.

However, that wasn't his only problem. Not only did he have the creeper staring at him, but he also had a civilian that was making him less than complacent and extremely nervous. Why? Because the 'civilian' that had been assigned to his team was none other than, "_Iruka-sensei,_" he thought. He glanced over at the Chuunin from the corner of his eye, silently observing the man. He looked older, Naruto thought, and maybe a little weary as if he wasn't getting enough sleep at night.

Iruka sensed the stare and shot the younger boy a smile. He was a little confused as to why this Chuunin hopeful had been glancing at him so often. The teacher thought it strange, "_Perhaps he's just nervous. It is the first time that anyone from that village has ever attended one of our Chuunin Exams." _His brow furrowed slightly, "_It's the first time that I've ever even heard of Onigakure." _

Fu was silently conversing with the demon sealed inside her, "_We are bored!"_ She pouted childishly. "_We want something fun to happen_," she wailed mentally. Her eyes suddenly flickered to her right, a dangerous smile appearing on her face. She adjusted the straps that held the red cylinder to her back. "Looks like our wish was answered," she sing-songed quietly coming to a stop.

'Koudo', Choji, and Iruka froze as a massive wave of killing intent filled the area. They each turned, Naruto carefully stepping out in front of Iruka to stare warily at the girl assigned to their team. His thoughts raced, "_Shit, if she becomes unstable and her demon takes control then I don't think we could stop her. I know that we can't." _

She giggled to herself, eying a certain part of the foliage. She let the red cylinder fall off of her back and land on the ground with a loud thud. "Little ninja! Come out, come out where ever you are," she sang. She spun around on her toes in a small circle. "Come out little ninja," Fu cooed like one would to a baby or a small puppy, "We just want to play. We promise not to hurt you… too much." A tree branch creaked as the Taki kunoichi leaned against the giant cylinder, petting the top of the object with one hand and the other cupping her chin, all the while smiling. After a few moments of silence Fu grew impatient. "We want to play now," she growled angrily, stomping her foot.

A buzzing sound began to emit from the surrounding forestry. The trees started shaking and a shinobi dropped from a nearby oak. He landed on his heels, but lost his balance, falling back onto his butt. Fu clapped her hands excitedly, "We found you!" The boy quickly tried to scramble away from the crazed kunoichi. Her eyes narrowed. He rolled over and was about to climb to his feet when he saw a pair of sandals in front of his face. He paused, slowly looking up to see her standing right there in front of him. She crouched down, her face mere centimeters from his.

"Where are you going?" she questioned curiously with a tilt of her head. "We haven't even started playing yet."

"Back off," the now identified Iwa Nin said with bravado. He jumped back, avoiding her kick, "Hachimitsu no Jutsu*!"

Hundreds of bees suddenly appeared around him, surrounding his body. He pointed at her and they immediately bent to his will and reached towards Fu. Fu stood still as they neared her and waited a second longer before bursting into motion, slicing the bees in half with a kunai that appeared in her hand. A brief flash of surprise lit her face as they turned into honey, causing her movements to stop.

He smirked, turning his attention to the other three. The shinobi took a couple of steps forward, introducing himself, "My name is Katsumi Kamizuru and I'll personally be ending your participation in this exam." He moved to use another technique, taking advantage of their surprise when he heard a small, girlish giggle behind him.

"Good, you how to play the game," she whispered in his ear, her breath tickling his skin and goosebumps forming on his tanned skin. His bees loudly buzzed, circling around the two of them. "Too bad that we're much better than you."

She rested her hands on his shoulders and he tensed, his heartbeat speeding up. She slowly massaged his shoulders, moving her hands up until they were wrapped around his neck. He tried to shake her off, but her grip was firm and he started to choke as her sharp fingernails dug into his skin. She quickly twisted his neck, snapping his spine with a sickening crack. The bees faded from existence as though they hadn't been there in the first place.

"Hmm, I win," Fu exclaimed, letting go of him. Katsumi's body sagged and fell to the ground causing a small pile of dust to fly up.

Choji opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to find anything to say. Iruka closed his eyes and looked away. He was a shinobi, a Chuunin at that, death shouldn't bother him. But he was more than that, he was a teacher and to see the life of a young man ended so abruptly was disturbing. Naruto stared at the body, his eyes narrowing as it seemed to liquefy. The boy's features were becoming disfigured, the skin melting down into a puddle the color of amber.

Naruto took a couple of steps forward, kneeling next to the liquid. "A clone…" He dipped one of his fingers into it, slowly lifting it and watching the trail of liquid that dripped down. He put the digit into his mouth, tasting it, "Made of honey." He wiped his hand on his pants and stood, "How original."

Fu huffed angrily, stomping forward with a dark expression on her face. The dark aura that had surrounded her earlier had intensified and she was now muttering to herself. "We'll just have to make sure and kill the bee later," Naruto heard her say.

The rest of the group warily followed after the irate girl. Naruto glanced back over at the pool of honey, "_You're one lucky bastard, Katsumi."_ He turned back and lengthened his stride to catch up with the rest of his team, unknowing of a pair of eyes watching their every move.

* * *

Rikami's team came to a sudden stop at the base of the tower. They all stood there, each one in a state of shock. Kiba kept opening and closing his mouth, remembering how long and how frightening his first exam had been and wondering just how they had made it through this one so quickly. The Sand Kunoichi, after a brief silence, clapped in happiness a smile lighting her face.

Rikami herself was speechless. "_It has only been about an hour and a half since we started this exam and–"_

"We're here… already?" Kiba stated with a hint of confusion, scratching his head. Akamaru barked in confirmation to his master's question.

"Yay!" The Sand Kunoichi exclaimed, "Now I have time to redo my makeup before the next exam!"

Kotetsu couldn't believe it. The whole time he had been as obnoxiously loud as he could be and he had even taken to pissing of the Inuzuka boy, but with even all that noise he made the team was not attacked once. Not even by the weirdly vicious animals that lived in the forest!

Rikami merely blinked as the Sand Kunoichi followed at a skip. The samurai-ninja glanced back over her shoulder at the forest before she too entered the tower. "_I have not yet had the opportunity to test my skills against these ninja,"_ she mentally sighed. "_Perhaps this will give me an advantage in the coming battle."_ That thought brightened her demeanor slightly. She stopped just inside the room and looked around. It was bizarrely empty and much too quiet. She waited and heard a sound coming from a room to her left. She walked over and pushed the door open to find Kiba and the annoying Suna girl along with an unfamiliar Leaf shinobi.

"Congratulations, you are the first team to complete the second exam," he stated. Kiba did a little fist pump and scratched Akamaru behind the ears, the wide grin on his face was a clear sign of his glee.

"_We're first? I thought that Sai and Naruto would have already been finished,"_ Rikami's mind wandered and she remembered the note that Sai sent her. "_They must be having trouble… They'll be fine."_ She turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

"The rest of the teams have two more days to finish so take the time to rest up for the third exam," he explained, his shoulders hunched forward and his hands in his pockets. There was a senbon in his mouth and Rikami found herself staring at it.

Kiba's brow furrowed. "There's a time limit? That wasn't mentioned at the beginning of the exam?" He paused. "At least I don't think it was," he said sheepishly. He wasn't really paying attention to what was being said. Something else had caught his interest. He chanced a side glance at Rikami and a flush reddened his cheeks.

The shinobi shrugged. "This is mostly to weed out participants so we won't have to do a preliminary battle like we had to at the last exam, but I suppose if they all make it here in two days…." He trailed off, looking up at the ceiling with a small frown on his face. He shook his head, "Enjoy your stay… while you can." The man's eyes flickered over to Kotetsu, "Anko wants to see you."

"It seems that you've all passed… despite my best efforts," Kotetsu added with a pout. "I've got to go report to my superiors." He thought of Anko and winced slightly, hoping that the crazed woman wouldn't get angry at him. He moved to leave, but an idea struck him. A mischievous grin lit his face and he whirled around, grabbing Rikami's hand and kneeled in front of the girl.

"Farewell, Rikami-hime, sweet maiden of Onigakure!" He dramatically announced, putting his other hand on his heart, "I shall never forget the time that we spent together and I can only hope that you will look fondly upon me at our next meeting." He turned her hand over and placed a light kiss on the inside of her wrist. He glanced up at her, "Our paths will cross again. That I'm sure of!" He internally cackled as Kiba's face turned an angry red and shushined away to give his report to the proctor of the exam.

"Ugh, I hate that guy," Kiba snarled. "_He should stick to guarding the gate and keep his hands to himself," _he thought heatedly, his hands curling into fists his nails digging into his skin. Akamaru yipped his agreement. That damn Chuunin sure was a pain in the ass. The two went off to explore the tower and the girl from Suna went off to find a bathroom leaving Rikami alone in the lounge room.

* * *

Kotetsu reappeared outside the Kage's office where Anko was probably monitoring the exam with Tsunade-sama. He took a deep breath, readying himself before he started to knock on the doors.

"SHIZUNE, MORE SAKE!" Tsunade's voice bellowed loudly.

The Chuunin winced slightly. His Kage didn't sound too happy at the moment, maybe he should just leave. Yeah, that sounded like a great idea.

Unfortunately for him, he was so caught up in his "escape plan" that he didn't notice when Anko not so casually slithered up beside him. He did, however, notice when she placed her hands on him, her fingers crawling up his back. He jumped, spluttering as he was most definitely not expecting that. He whirled around to tell the person off when he saw that it was, "A-Anko!"

She seemed to ignore his need for personal space and leaned in closely, wrapping her arm around his. "So… one of the teams fail already?"

Kotetsu coughed, "Well… no, not exactly."

Anko quirked an eyebrow, her grip tightening, "What do you mean _not_ exactly?"

The man fidgeted nervously, "They kinda— sorta… passed?" he finished softly.

"They passed?" Anko exclaimed. "How the hell did they pass?" Her eyes narrowed, staring straight at him. She began stalking forward and shoved open the doors to the Hokage's office, practically dragging him behind her.

"_This is not going to be good. Not at all,"_ Kotetsu inwardly cried.

Tsunade glanced up from the scroll hopefully as the door opened, "_It better be Shizune with my sake."_ She was sadly disappointed though when it was not her apprentice. Hachirou was sitting in the chair across from her, leaning over the desk.

"What're you two doing here?" The Slug Sanin asked.

Anko pushed Kotetsu forward and pointed at him accusingly, "He says that a team's passed the second exam!"

"What?" Tsunade straightened. "It's only been a few hours since the exam started," she murmured.

Hachirou gazed between the Hokage and her subordinates, interested in the conversation. "Who was on the team?" he asked, raising his voice slightly. The three turned to look at him. "If you don't mind my asking that is," he added.

Anko blinked, just noticing that there were actually other people in the room including a blond in the corner and a pretty intimidating man who looked like he'd get along real well with Ibiki.

"The team had a kunoichi, I think her name's Matsuri, from Sand, Kiba Inuzuka, and Rikami of Onigakure," Kotetsu reported, lowering his head in respect.

Hachirou tried to stop the smile that was threatening to appear on his face. He was bursting with pride.

Eriiz smirked, crossing his arms. "Well, it's too be expected by one of my students," he drawled. Hachirou rolled his eyes and Anko leered at the blond.

Tsunade frowned slightly, "_Dammit, I had my money on that Shino kid. Tsume will be bragging about this for weeks." _"How'd they fare?" the question was directed towards Kotetsu.

"They – uh – didn't have a single scratch on them," the Chuunin managed to finish without faltering, silently hoping that his little omission of exact details wouldn't bite him in the ass later on.

"A beautiful illustration of how well our Villages will work together," Hachirou observed thoughtfully.

Tsunade nodded her head in agreement. "_Very well. Almost makes me wonder if you planned this… I got to admit that this kid is good."_ Her eyes landed on Anko and Kotetsu, "You two are dismissed." She waited until they left, Anko still glaring daggers at Kotetsu for his 'failure'. Tsunade sighed, "Chuunin," she commented with a shake of her head.

Eriiz snorted, "I know exactly what you mean, Hokage-sama." "_Damn punk ass Chuunin," _he grumbled mentally.

Tsunade scanned the scroll one last time. "I think that's all that we need to go over," she said, signing her name with a flourish. "I'll just need a copy for my records," she added.

Hachirou smiled brightly. "That won't be a problem. We brought two copies just in case," he added almost sheepishly.

* * *

The day slowly dragged by and Rikami found herself glancing out of the window several times. Kiba had gone up to one of the rooms a while ago and was sleeping. The Sand kunoichi, whose name she never got, was getting her "beauty sleep". Rikami couldn't rest, not until she was sure her teammates passed the exam. She would know if they were injured because of the tattoos that connected them to the village and one another.

It had been three or so hours since the sun had set and she decided to go and check again. She looked and saw a raggedy group making their way to the tower entrance. Her eyes focused on one of the members of the team and found that they were limping and leaning on the other. The tattoo on her left arm burned slightly, signaling her. She abruptly stood, rushing down the stairs. _"Always aid a fellow ninja from your Village, Ninja Code of Honor, page two, paragraph one."_

Sai staggered up to the entrance of the tower, one of Hinata's arms was slung over his shoulder and he was bearing most of her weight. The wound that had been inflicted on her leg was more serious than any of them had thought. The cut hadn't stopped bleeding and had in fact bled through the bandages twice. The kunai that she was struck with must've been coated with a poison, probably one of the Kusa kunoichi's, as Kusa was known for its potent poisons. The veins running through her leg stood out very vividly, dark purple against snow white. Sai was worried.

Khan was in front of the two, carrying their unconscious civilian on his back. They had been caught in a surprise attack earlier and Tenten had been thrown to the side by a rather vicious Kumo kunoichi who seemed intent on bloodshed. The group warily stepped through the doors, hoping that this wasn't a genjutsu cast by a group of genin.

The Sand shinobi motioned to Sai who nodded and formed the tiger seal, "Kai," releasing a burst of chakra to dispel any illusion there might have been. There was no discernable change in their surroundings. The two males relaxed, some tension easing from their shoulders.

"Sai-san, Hinata-san, are you okay back there?" Khan asked quietly, turning his body to look at the two behind him.

Hinata's eyes fluttered open. She peered around and found that though her vision was slightly blurry she recognized the tower and let out a sigh, "We m-made it." She let out another breath and closed her eyes.

"Hinata-san?" Sai exclaimed. He felt for her pulse and was relieved to find that it was still steady. The doors opened and he looked up, internally grateful to see, "Rikami!"

Just as she was about to cross the threshold of the tower to help the team a cloud of smoke appeared between them, the sign of a shushin. It quickly cleared to reveal Genma with the senbon still in his mouth, "Congrats, you're the fourth te—"

He choked as he was pushed out of the way by Rikami who quickly assisted Sai with Hinata. The two carefully picked her up and took her inside the tower. Genma regained himself and followed the team in. His eyes widened as he gazed at the Hyuuga heir, noticing her condition. "_Shit, what the hell happened out there?"_ He immediately took control of the situation, taking in the whole team. "What the hell happened?"

Khan slowly set down Tenten and tiredly stood at attention. "I ask for medical attention for my teammate. Early on in the exam we were attacked and a kunoichi from Kusa stabbed Hinata with a kunai that we believed was poisoned."

Genma mentally cursed at his luck, "Alri—"

A loud bark echoed in the lounge room, interrupting Genma, and the occupants turned to see Akamaru and Kiba. "Hinata!" The Inuzuka shouted, running over to the couch. He knelt down by her and stared down at his female teammate. He tenderly grabbed her hand, wiping sweat off of her forehead. "It'll be okay, Hinata, it'll be okay," he whispered.

Sai felt his legs collapse beneath him and he stumbled to the ground. He winced, holding onto his injured arm, full mobility had yet to return to the limb, but the feeling of pain had increased.

Rikami turned, trying to hold him steady, "Sai?" He lifted his head, eyes narrowing as he tried to focus on her face. He blinked, his vision was blurring. He could see her lips moving, but he couldn't seem to hear a single sound. "Sai?" She repeated in a worried tone. She looked up at the proctor, who had grabbed Hinata gingerly and called for another Chuunin and to take the boy. The two quickly shushined away to the hospital, Genma was silently hoping that they would make it there in time.

Rikami stared at the spot where the two men had disappeared and prayed that it was only a small injury, she didn't know what would happen if Naruto found out. Her teammate wouldn't be happy that much was certain. One thing she didn't understand though was how he had gotten injured in the first place after all these were only Genin. They shouldn't have been able to damage any of the team from Onigakure as they were of a much higher ranking, but she supposed it could've been a lucky hit or Sai had underestimated the competition. "_That would be a foolish mistake as you should __never__ underestimate your opponent. I'll have to remind him of this later."_

She glanced over at Kiba was still kneeling on the ground where his teammate had once laid. He didn't look like he was going to get back up any time soon. "_Probably in shock,"_ Rikami thought. She stepped behind him making sure not to make any fast movements and laid a hand on his shoulder, offering comfort to the Inuzuka.

* * *

Naruto and Choji flanked their civilian and cautiously followed after the psychotic kunoichi from Taki. The team was nearing the tower this much they knew as the trees were slowly spreading apart from one another, becoming more controlled and less wild. After a couple hundred meters they finally got their first glimpse of the tower and Naruto felt immensely relieved. He sped up his pace hoping that Sai... "_And Rikami_," his mind hastily added, "_His team_," were already there or at least close to arriving. He didn't know he could stand to be separated from them again. From him again. Choji and Iruka quickly matched his speed.

Fu, unlike her teammates, was quite disappointed that the exam would be ending so early. She slowed, the others passing by her. She had sincerely wanted to meet that bee user again and perhaps teach him a lesson, one that ended in death. His, of course. Her lips curled up in a grin and she closed her eyes, imagining it. "_Blood flying through the air,"_ the demon stated. Both demon and container let out a dreamy sigh, twirling into the tower behind Naruto.

Naruto paid no attention to the Chuunin who was congratulating the team for making it to the tower; his thoughts were occupied by different manners. His eyes scanned the room searching for Sai and Rikami, but more specifically Sai. "_Where is he…?"_ His gaze finally landed on Rikami who had her back turned to the door and was staring out a window. He pushed past the Chuunin and began to walk over, glancing over his shoulder at Iruka-sensei and Choji.

"Rikami," he greeted the silent girl. "When'd you get here? Has Sai arrived yet?" He waited for her to answer, but none came. "Rikami?" He moved to sit next to her, feeling worried at her lack of a response. He nudged her shoulder, "Rikami, what's wrong?"

Rikami slowly lifted her head, contemplating how to answer her teammates questions. "We were the first team to arrive at the tower." She hesitated. "Sai did arrive—"

Naruto brightened, moving to stand, "I should go and find him then!"

Rikami grabbed his arm, "Naru—Koudo," she quickly corrected herself, not knowing if anyone was listening in on their conversation. "He was not in the… best condition."

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

She looked him directly in the eye and answered, "They took him and the girl on his team to the hospital." He froze. "Listen to me," she continued. "It may be serious, when he got here he collapsed."

He tore his arm from her grip, "I have to go see him."

"I don't think you shou—" Rikami interjected.

He turned to her, "I have to see him," he repeated.

* * *

_* _Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshu: Guardian Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand – This is a technique that Hinata uses in the Anime only.

* Fuuton Reppushou: Wind Style: Wind gale

_* _Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu: Earth Release: Hiding like a mole technique

* Hachimitsu no Jutsu: Bee Honey Technique – This is a technique is in the Anime only.

**AN: **Sorry that it took so long for me to write this chapter. It's been a little harder to keep my focus on it with Alia not here. I hope that you liked it and that the battle scenes make sense as it was my first time writing them. Thanks to those who reviewed. If there are any questions, critiques, and/or praise for the story, they are more than welcome!

Jerri


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